Assassins (1995)
47%RT Audience Score: 45%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Assassins, a film that tries to be a high-tech action thriller, falls short of its goal. The action is lackluster, and the explosions and car chases are nothing to write home about. Director Richard Donner seems to be trying to create an art-house version of his Lethal Weapon series, but the result is a film with too much dead air. The performances of Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas are uninspired, and the plot is implausible. While the film has a slick big-budget style, it ultimately fails to deliver the excitement and thrills that audiences expect from an action movie.
Assassins is like a bad blind date – you’re stuck with it for way too long, it’s awkward, and you can’t wait for it to be over. The action scenes are lackluster, the plot is thin, and the acting is forgettable. The only thing that might keep you awake is the occasional explosion, but even that gets old after a while. Save yourself the trouble and swipe left on this one.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Seattle, Washington, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and language
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):English, Dutch, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 1995 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2000
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore, Anatoli Davydov, Muse Watson, Stephen Kahan, directed by Richard Donner, written by Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Brian Helgeland, produced by Richard Donner, Bruce A Evans, Andrew Lazar, Joel Silver, action, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ian Nathan, Owen Gleiberman, Jonathan Taylor, Janet Maslin, Peter Stack, Joey O’Bryan, Mike Massie, Leigh Paatsch, Tim Stevens, Daniel Barnes, Tim Brayton, Maitland McDonagh, R rating, contract killing, assassin, gun play, car chases, explosions, marked man, thriller, cat and mouse, suspense, technoir, hitman, Robert Rath, Miguel Bain, Electra, Nicolai Tashlinkov, Alan Branch, Warner Bros Pictures, Surround, SDDS, Dolby Stereo, Stereo
Worldwide gross: $30,303,072
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $59,586,744
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,258
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,498,009
US/Canada gross: $30,303,072
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $59,586,744
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 992
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,378,637
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,441,775
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 699
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $50,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $98,317,992
Production budget ranking: 415
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $52,944,239
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$91,675,487
ROI to date (est.): -61%
ROI ranking: 1,749
Antonio Banderas – Miguel Bain
Julianne Moore – Electra
Anatoli Davydov – Nicolai Tashlinkov
Muse Watson – Ketcham
Stephen Kahan – Alan Branch
Richard Donner – Director/Producer
Bruce A. Evans – Producer
Andrew Lazar – Producer
Joel Silver – Producer
Lilly Wachowski – Writer
Lana Wachowski – Writer
Brian Helgeland – Writer
Director(s)
Richard Donner
Writer(s)
Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Brian Helgeland
Producer(s)
Richard Donner, Bruce A. Evans, Andrew Lazar, Joel Silver
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (41)
The action is stilted and infrequent, reduced to indifferent gun play, car chases and one standout explosion when a gas main ignites.
March 2, 2012 | Rating: 2/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
There’s so much dead air floating around in this icy-cool thriller that the director, Richard Donner, seems to be trying for an art-house version of his Lethal Weapon series (The 400 Blows to Your Head?).
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A not-much-fun high-tech actioner.
March 26, 2009
Jonathan Taylor
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Although he lets Assassins run on too long, Mr. Donner gives it a dependably slick big-budget style.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas seem as if they didn’t know quite what to do to make this implausible action drama a kick.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 1/4
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A surprisingly effective thriller, Assassins is much better than it needs to be, thanks mainly to a fast-paced script and two great supporting performances.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/5
Joey O’Bryan
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A sensational collection of gun battles, face-offs, and car chases embellishes a destructive cat and mouse endeavor.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
You can pencil in the rest for yourselves – a bullet in the head here, an explosion there, plenty of shards of broken glass, assorted blood splatters, and the annoyingly predictable climax.
April 27, 2020 | Rating: 1.5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Assassins has a frantic surface spread over a shallow vaguely disconnected center.
June 10, 2019
Tim Stevens
The Spool
A hilariously pretentious attempt at an existential hitman thriller, Assassins pits Sylvester Stallone’s morose mumbling against Antonio Banderas’ out-of-control mugging.
April 23, 2019 | Rating: 1/5
Daniel Barnes
Dare Daniel
One of the worst big-budget action movies of its decade.
January 2, 2016 | Rating: 2/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
It’s numbingly cold and pointless.
March 2, 2012 | Rating: 1.5/4
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide…
Plot
Robert Rath is a seasoned hitman who just wants out of the business with no back talk. But, as things go, it ain’t so easy. A younger, peppier assassin named Bain is having a field day trying to kill said older assassin. Rath teams up with a computer hacker named Electra to defeat the obsessed Bain.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Assassins on Fresh Kernels.
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