assassin movie review

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Movie Review – Assassin (2023)

March 31, 2023 by Robert Kojder

Assassin , 2023.

Directed by Jesse Atlas. Starring Andy Allo, Nomzamo Mbatha, Mustafa Shakir, Dominic Purcell, Bruce Willis, Fernanda Andrade, Barry Jay Minoff, Eugenia Kuzmina, Hannah Quinlivan, Vanessa Vander Pluym, and Christian Rodrigo.

A man dies as part of an experimental military program. A former black-ops soldier takes his place to find who killed him.

The only noteworthy aspect of director Jesse Atlas’ Assassin (which he co-writes alongside Aaron Wolfe) is that it marks the final on-screen performance of the greatly revered Bruce Willis, who has been battling aphasia and struggling to act convincingly. Setting aside the ethics of Bruce Willis continuing to act in low-budget action drek (that primarily goes straight to video) despite that condition and whether or not it is something he wanted to do, the movies are typically terrible, and they would be even if he were the Bruce Willis of Die Hard notoriety.

The unfortunate late stage of Bruce Willis’ career boiled down to showing up, straining to recite dialogue while standing around for brief exchanges, and then eventually getting to save the day with some equally lackadaisical and blandly crafted action sequences. Assassin is somewhat different in that Jesse Atlas is not necessarily concerned with using Bruce Willis in that way but rather as a minor supporting character employing Andy Allo’s Mali to recover game-changing military technology from career criminal Adrian (Dominic Purcell). It also happens to be the same device responsible for the disappearance of her significant other, Sebastian (Mustafa Shakir).

Mali will have to accomplish this task by using that same technology; putting on a wet suit, slipping into an ice bath, and taking over the mind and physical actions of someone else’s body, typically someone with a working relationship with Adrian. Her job is to get close to Adrian, find the missing technology, and then kill him, all while being allowed to figure out more about what happened to her partner in the process.

There is no other way to talk about Assassin other than being blunt; this confoundingly silly movie doesn’t give itself a chance to break any of its sci-fi rules, opting never to explain much about them in the first place. Why and how are this military personnel allowed to take over the bodies of some people and not others? If they can get close to these people to do something to their brains that allow them to take over their consciousness, why can’t they just get close enough to find the device themselves? It also seems like no one else has to slip into an ice bath to take over someone else’s body.

Jesse Atlas is more concerned with the moral conversation surrounding this new way of assassination (Mali was under the impression that her partner was a drone pilot, so there’s another analogy) but fails miserably at exploring that. As Mali starts taking over different bodies and returning to her true self, a bleeding effect occurs when she slowly loses her grip on her body. Even more baffling (although there is a predictable and dumb reason behind it), she develops an unexplainable connection with Adrian while posing as an art dealer (Nomzamo Mbatha), attempting to get close to him romantically. The twist is already outrageous, but the last few bits of the plot are astoundingly ridiculous.

Jesse Atlas has clearly played a lot of Assassins’ Creed (it’s right there in the damn title), smashing together ideas from those games about the moral implications and side effects of taking over someone else’s body, resulting in an illogical and dull flick that doesn’t even thrill when it shifts into action mode. I know Bruce Willis has had it hard lately, but Assassin is more forgettable and dumb than the usual stuff he appears in, although maybe still not quite as incompetently horrible. Nevertheless, RIP to an exceptional acting career mired in tragedy and junk during its final years.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★  / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Common sense media reviewers.

Willis' final movie is a violent, disappointing letdown.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie involves an invasive, intrusive, inhuman

Alexa is arguably the most positive character, but

Alexa (Black actor Nomzamo Mbatha, who was born in

Many deaths. Characters are shot and killed. A wom

Flirting. Vague suggestion of sex (one character s

Several uses of "f--k" and "s--t," plus "goddamn,"

Apple logo visible on iPhone.

Glasses of wine held but not drunk. Dialogue: "You

Parents need to know that Assassin is a low-budget sci-fi action movie about weaponized tech that lets users take over others' bodies. A woman (Nomzamo Mbatha) uses it to try to rescue her romantic partner, who was trapped in another body. Violence is very strong: Characters are killed, and there's shooting,…

Positive Messages

The movie involves an invasive, intrusive, inhuman warfare tactic. One side argues that it will save the lives of "good" people by sacrificing "bad" people. But the movie is on the opposite side, arguing that not only is the tactic cruel, but it takes a huge emotional and psychological toll. There's very little real-world application for this theme, but it's interesting to discuss.

Positive Role Models

Alexa is arguably the most positive character, but she does everything she does -- including taking over the bodies of innocents and killing -- to rescue her husband. She's brave and strong, but she's morally iffy.

Diverse Representations

Alexa (Black actor Nomzamo Mbatha, who was born in South Africa) is the strong, brave female main character. Her partner, Sebastian (Mustafa Shakir), is also Black. The artist is played by Andy Allo, who was born in Cameroon, and another member of Alexa's team, Olivia, is played by Fernanda Andrade, who's from Brazil. A female secret agent who has one cool scene in which she dispatches a villain is played by Hannah Quinlivan, who identifies as Australian Taiwanese. White men are generally in small roles here -- including Willis, who has only a supporting role despite being touted in all of the marketing -- except for the villain (Dominic Purcell, who identifies as Irish and Norwegian).

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Many deaths. Characters are shot and killed. A woman attacks a man; they fight, and she's shot. Character shot in head. More scenes of men and women fighting, with punching, knife use, bloody cut on hand, etc. Blood spurts (often fake and digital-looking). Digging electronic device out of neck, with blood. Stabbing in neck; blood spurt. Pile of dead people on elevator; bloody wounds visible. Woman punched in face. Head bashed against parked vehicle. Martial arts fighting. Stabbing. Strangling. Bloody punching. Choking. Character hit with bottle. Character threatened with gun. Character falls from high balcony. Person beaten with tire iron (mostly off-screen). One "drone" is a pregnant woman. Barefoot character steps on broken glass; blood shown. Violent/disturbing references ("fatally stabbed," "trafficking underage girls," etc.).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Flirting. Vague suggestion of sex (one character shown on top of another, though it's very brief and not clear).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Several uses of "f--k" and "s--t," plus "goddamn," "son of a bitch," "stupid."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Glasses of wine held but not drunk. Dialogue: "You let me drink again?"

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Assassin is a low-budget sci-fi action movie about weaponized tech that lets users take over others' bodies. A woman (Nomzamo Mbatha) uses it to try to rescue her romantic partner, who was trapped in another body. Violence is very strong: Characters are killed, and there's shooting, stabbing, strangling, fighting, choking, kicking, martial arts, falls, head-bashing, and more. Women and men are involved in intense brawls in several scenes. Language includes several uses of "f--k," plus "s--t," "goddamn," and "son of a bitch." There's some flirting and the vague, brief suggestion of sex. Characters hold glasses of wine but don't drink from them, and there's dialogue about drinking. The film is notable for being the final project of Bruce Willis , who retired after being diagnosed with aphasia. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In ASSASSIN, soldier Alexa (Nomzamo Mbatha) visits the bedside of her romantic partner, Sebastian ( Mustafa Shakir ), who lies in a mysterious coma. A man named Valmora ( Bruce Willis ), who runs a secret operation that Sebastian was involved in, recruits Alexa to join his team. The op involves technology that allows people to send their consciousness to another's body via a small device (called a "spider") that's implanted in that person's neck. If Alexa can retrieve Sebastian's "spider," then there's a chance of bringing him back. Unfortunately, this involves getting close to a dangerous and powerful criminal, Adrian ( Dominic Purcell ). Alexa's only way in is to borrow the body of a beautiful artist, Mali ( Andy Allo ), whom Adrian seems to trust.

Is It Any Good?

Willis' final movie makes good use of him, and it has an interesting story, but it succumbs to its low budget and hits a few too many stumbling blocks, making it a disappointing last hurrah. The directorial debut of Jesse Atlas, Assassin puts Willis in the role of a crusty ops leader who occasionally snarls an order or a short remark while others do the real work. At times, he almost seems like his old self, rather than the fading figure who was diagnosed with aphasia. The movie's sci-fi body-jumping tale may not be 100% original, but it's a strong hook. But while Assassin seems aware of the cruelty of the body-takeover setup, it doesn't seem to have enough time or bandwidth to make it hit home emotionally. Moments are sometimes too choppy or ill-timed. For example, in a scene in which two characters are shot and killed in a diner, no reaction shots are used to express the shock of the situation, and it falls flat. And while the climax should have been a powerhouse, it feels more like a head-scratcher. Perhaps a better movie could have been made with more resources, but this one is a disappointment, especially as the farewell vehicle for its co-star.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Assassin 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

How do you feel about the technology depicted in the movie? Might there be any good, positive use for this type of "drone" tech?

Did you notice positive diverse representation in the movie? What about stereotypes ?

How does the movie depict flirting, romance, and sex ? What did Mali/Alexa and Adrian know about each other?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 31, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : March 31, 2023
• Cast : Nomzamo Mbatha , Bruce Willis , Andy Allo
• Director : Jesse Atlas
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Saban Films
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Run time : 87 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violence and language
• Last updated : April 26, 2024

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Assassin's Creed Review

A leap of faith that doesn't quite land..

Assassin's Creed, the first film to spin out of Ubisoft’s popular action/adventure franchise, has high aspirations. Director Justin Kurzel has reunited with the stars of his last project, 2015’s Macbeth, to create a project that is just as serious, just as weighty , despite at its core being about the quest for a magical apple through advanced virtual reality. Though it’s bolstered by some glorious action sequences and a stellar cast that really gives us their all, the lack of any levity whatsoever in Assassin's Creed amounts to a soulless experience that wastes its potential.

Characters here have a lot more fun, too. Though quickly sketched, assassin Maria (Ariane Labed) has a steely resolve and panther-like physicality that makes her an excellent partner in crime for Aguilar, and Javier Gutierrez plays it delightfully sinister as leader of the Inquisition, Tomas de Torquemada.

As soon as it’s back to the grim monotony of Callum and co, however, any inkling of life dies. As Assassin’s Creed struggles towards its conclusion - and a nonsensical heel turn from a major character - one can’t help but feel disappointed in a film that got the style of the series so right, yet its heart so wrong.

In This Article

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‘Assassin’ Review: Bruce Willis’ Farewell Film Doesn’t Hold a Candle to His Career Highs

Assassin's Creed Movie Review

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Taking a stab at it.

By Tony Wilson on December 19, 2016 at 12:38PM PST

Assassin’s Creed is a game series ripe for the movie world. Its tale of entering the past through your ancestor’s DNA opens doors for a number of narrative opportunities, and the film adaptation makes strides, both good and bad, to set itself apart. This particular story stars Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, X-Men) and Marion Cotillard (Dark Knight Rises, Allied), and is directed by Justin Kurzel, best known for his 2015 take on Macbeth. It centers on the games’ all-important Apple of Eden, an artifact that can be used to control the free will of mankind. The Templars seek this control, while the Assassins want to keep it out of their hands. It’s a classic good-versus-evil scenario that drives the story through both awesome action and some poor narrative choices.

The biggest question you’ll have going into the movie is whether or not it does right by fans of the game series. The necessary elements are all here: the Animus, the hidden blade, the Templars, and there is a short list of inside jokes for the hardcore crowd. And in terms of establishing its hero, protagonist Callum Lynch (Fassbender) has an origin story not unlike Desmond Miles, the star of the game series.

Callum led a normal life (well, as normal as one can lead when raised by Assassins) in a rural Texas town, until his mother died at the hands of his own father. Cut to about 30 years later and Callum is on death row. But his execution is faked, and he finds himself a prisoner of Abstergo, a strange company bent on digging into his ancestral past, which will guide them to the location of the Apple of Eden. He’s one of many Assassins in this facility, though his ancestral ties offer Abstergo its best chance yet at pilfering that Apple. Fassbender’s performance is expectedly strong, as he wrestles with either serving these captors or sparking a rebellion and escaping with his fellow prisoners.

But despite Fassbender’s best, he can only act out what’s been written. Several of his actions come out of the blue, and feel totally unjustified in the grand scheme of the film. In fact, a few key moments that lead into the movie’s finale are given zero explanation. Instead of foreshadowing or implying what is to come, the viewer is dropped into the heat of the moment, resulting in confusion during times when they should be cheering for the hero.

That lack of context is not exclusive to Fassbender’s character, however. Moussa, a fellow Abstergo experimentee played by Michael K. Williams (The Wire, 12 Years a Slave), doesn’t ever speak like a regular human being, and is only given platitude after platitude to say. He doesn’t come across wise, but as pretentious. Other Abstergo prisoners and would-be Assassins aren’t given the necessary development, and deliver equally banal dialogue. As a result, they come across as dumb, rather than profound.

Callum is plunged back into his past to relive the memories of Aguilar, an assassin that fought in the Inquisition. This is achieved using the Animus, a device that can tap into memories encoded into a person's DNA, and the movie's interpretation is very fun to watch. Rather than use the cybernetic tanning bed of the games, the film straps Callum into a giant claw that twists about the room as he moves in the past. This is overlayed on ghostly historical images in a few shots, and makes for some great visuals.

All of the issues so far pertain to the modern-day portion of Assassin’s Creed. Fortunately, the other chunk of the film, set during the Spanish Inquisition, fares much better. You’ll find yourself just waiting for Callum to go back into the Animus so you can see more of the past.

What you’ll see during the Spanish Inquisition is a treat thanks to stunt choreography. There’s a large amount of stunt work in both time periods, but where the present day leans into fisticuffs and weapon fights, the past shines much brighter with its focus on parkour. High-altitude climbs, rooftop runs, the iconic Leap of Faith--it all looks fantastic, and it was almost entirely done using practical effects, which gives it a sense of believability. This is no small feat for a movie about people leaping impossible distances. In fact, the few stunts that were blended with CG for safety’s sake only stand out because the practical shots are so strong.

Sadly, the rush of these Spanish Inquisition scenes is fleeting. Though it’s explained in the narrative, Doctor Sophia Rikkin (Cotillard) frequently pulls Callum from the Animus at the height of the action. One of the movies biggest sins is to cut away from the Leap of Faith, which results in a loss of impact for the series’ most iconic maneuver.

Where the Assassin’s Creed games lean heavily into the past, the movie gives too much attention to the present. This leads to a messy narrative broken up by some truly engaging historical action scenes. But just like Callum being yanked out at the height of the action, you’ll feel unsatisfied by the whole experience. Moment to moment, it’s a fun action flick; as a whole, it’ll leave you feeling shortchanged.

And you just might get more, as Assassin’s Creed blatantly sets itself up for a sequel in the final moments. Perhaps a second entry will solve a lot of these problems, but as it stands, it’s hard to recommend this film unless you’re willing to put up with a lot of sloppy plot development for a few genuinely good action scenes.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, assassin club.

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Spare a thought for the lost souls who stumble upon the direct-to-video (DTV) action cheapy “Assassin Club” while trawling some vast streaming platform (or maybe just the Walmart discount bin). At least “Assassin Club” accurately represents this tired thriller, which follows a young hitman (“ Crazy Rich Asians ” star Henry Golding ) as he wearily trots about the globe, trying to identify and exterminate whoever’s placed a million-dollar bounty on his head. But while the ideal viewer of “Assassin Club” probably understands and accepts the limitations of this bottom-dollar time-waster, even the least choosy genre fans can do better than “Assassin Club.”

The premise, like the movie that follows, is simple enough. Golding stars as Morgan, an ex-Marine sniper turned hired killer who may look spry enough but is already considering retirement. Morgan dreams of starting a new life with his girlfriend Sophie ( Daniela Melchior ), but he must first complete one last high-paying job, and it’s obviously too good to be true: kill six villainous criminals for a million dollars a head.

Soon, the hunter becomes the hunted as Morgan realizes that the other six killers are fellow assassins, and oh yeah, there’s a bounty on his head, too. To find answers, Morgan seeks out the mysterious “Falk,” the only unidentified person among Morgan’s six targets. Golding’s character is also chased after by the conventionally short-tempered Interpol Agent Vos, played by Noomi Rapace . Intrigue should follow but, sadly, does not.

“Assassin Club” slouches from one plot development to the next, despite some lively, but poorly mounted action scenes; the choreographers, stuntpeople, and on-screen performers hit their marks, but the cameras don’t often flatter them. Golding stands out, if only for how hard he struggles to make something of his sketchy character.

It’s still probably telling that the most compelling parts of Morgan’s quest involve his mysterious broker/mentor Caldwell, played with some amused relish by Sam Neill . Morgan thinks Caldwell has betrayed him because Caldwell’s always lined up Morgan’s jobs for him, and also has convinced Morgan that he’s doing the right thing by only killing bad people. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel shocking or especially dramatic when Morgan discovers that Caldwell lied about his six targets’ identities.

The mischievous energy that Neill brings to his scenes might give viewers pause—maybe Caldwell’s right when he insists that he’s not really betraying Morgan—or sporadically give “Assassin Club” the illusion of emotional depth. Too bad the moviemakers aren’t really concerned with the weird tension that Caldwell’s character introduces, and Neill’s performance whisks away with him when he exits the picture.

More screentime is predictably devoted to Agent Vos, who tries to push the plot along by interrogating various supporting characters with a head-scratching accent that sounds like a cross between a Southern hick and a Lithuanian cabby. Then there are the other killers that Morgan’s supposed to hunt. Their defining quirks are never fully exploited either, which makes it harder to root for Golding’s beleaguered protagonist as he necessarily reacts to pulpy foils like Yuko ( Sheena Hao ), a man-hating martial artist, and Anselm ( Claudio Del Falco ), a finger-collecting psychotic.

Golding’s appreciable investment in his character doesn’t add much to his chemistry-free scenes with Melchior. He also struggles to make Morgan look like a tough guy with soul. Golding winces as his character plunges a syringe into an open neck wound while driving a stolen ambulance during a choppy and visually anemic car chase. Golding also snarls into his sniper rifle’s telescopic lens during his between-gritted-teeth recitations of William Butler ’s Yeats Death , which Morgan has randomly made his pre-sniping mantra. Golding tries hard enough, but I just didn’t believe that he was a highly skilled assassin with all the stock character trimmings, including a concerned-but-clueless romantic partner, a possibly traitorous business partner, and a peculiar Interpol agent trailing after him, too.

To be fair, star power and character development might not be relevant to whoever’s watching “Assassin Club.” The formulaic pleasures of this kind of high-concept project may be enough to occasionally compensate for its creators’ low-energy execution. Then again, DTV action movies usually only stand apart from their A- or B-grade competitors when their creators’ have fully exploited some special X-factor quality that compensates for their frequent lack of other attractive qualities, like an original style, some marquee-topping leads or visual effects budget. You don’t really need any of that stuff to make a good enough genre exercise. However, you need something more than a committed cast of B+ (at worst) stars. Between underwhelming action scenes and draining expository dialogue, “Assassin Club” often leaves its cast out to dry.

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Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

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Film credits.

Assassin Club (2023)

113 minutes

Henry Golding as Morgan Gaines

Noomi Rapace as Falk / Agent Vos

Daniela Melchior as Sophie

Jimmy Jean-Louis as Inspector Leon

Sam Neill as Caldwell

Anastasia Doaga as Jonna

Claudio Del Falco as Ryder

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American Assassin

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Watch American Assassin with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, or buy on Fandango at Home.

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American Assassin hits a few easy targets, but without enough style or wit to truly bring its characters to life -- or stand out in a crowded field of more compelling spy thrillers.

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’A Sacrifice’ Review: Suicide Is Painless In a Fuzzy Thriller Starring Sadie Sink and Eric Bana

A Berlin-based cult finds ways to lure an academic and his teen daughter in Jordan Scott’s slick if underdeveloped second feature. 

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Ben Monroe (Bana) is an American university professor who previously wrote a nonfiction bestseller called “The Science of Loneliness.” Now he’s a guest lecturer at an institution in the German capital, while working on a next tome to be titled “The Power of Group Think.” But he’s also traveled here at the behest of his wife in California, who wants at least a trial separation. He’s not happy about that, nor evidently is their teenage daughter Mazzy (Sadie Sink), who’s been acting out — so mom has sent her to dad for the summer as “punishment.” Mazzy is just fine with that, particularly as she almost immediately meets a cute local boy, Martin (Jonas Dassler). 

We’ve soon little doubt that her “sacrifice is redemption” line is behind a string of ritual suicides that “social psychologist” Ben gets tipped to via colleague Max’s (Stephan Kampwirth) acquaintance with Nina (Sylvia Hoeks), whose job is “profiling dangerous criminals for the government.” As Mazzy gets nose-led into trouble by Martin, Ben similarly falls for bait dangled by Nina. It is neither surprising nor convincing that these things all turn out to be conspiratorially connected. 

Scott gets decent performances from an able cast, and “A Sacrifice” is handsomely presented. As with “Cracks,” however, her polished style (bedecked with flourishes like slo-mo and reverse-motion shots) isn’t potent enough to compensate for a lack of core substance. Characters spouting the odd pretentious quasi-sociological or politicized doomsday pronouncement do little to enrich our grasp on the sketchily-drawn cult, or even of their own individual psychologies. That leaves the bad guys eventually leaning towards caricature, with the good ones too bland to generate much empathy. While pacing is reasonably brisk, and there’s mortal peril after a point, actual tension stubbornly refuses to arise in the storytelling.

The director has termed this a “magical realist thriller.” A more fable-like approach might indeed have let viewers accept the logic gaps and underdeveloped themes as more allusive than lacking, yet what’s on screen comes off as too literal-minded for such allowances. So “A Sacrifice” just feels like a pulpy genre setup that increasingly drifts into conceptual ether, something it does not have the mysterioso intensity to render a plus. Not that Scott’s collaborators couldn’t have managed that if given a chance — in particular, Julie Kirkwood’s cinematography and Volker Bertelmann’s original score have moments of enigmatic ambiguity that the film as a whole only aspires to. 

Reviewed online, June 24, 2024. Running time: 94 MIN.

• Production: (U.S.-Germany) A Vertical release (U.S.) of a Scott Free Productions, Augenschein Filmproduktion. production in association with Logical Content Pictures, Protagonist Pictures. Producers: Ridley Scott, Michael Pruss, Georgina Pope, Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo. Executive producers: Eric Bana, Jonathan Saubach, Justin Alvarado-Brown, Kenji Isomura, Celine Dornier, Frederic Flore. Co-producers: Rebecca Feuer, Marius Ehlayil, Carlotta Loffelholz, Rusta Mizani, Simon B. Stein.
• Crew: Director, screenplay: Jordan Scott, based on the novel “Tokyo” by Nicholas Hogg. Camera: Julie Kirkwood. Editor: Rachel Durance. Music: Volker Bertelmann. 
• With: Eric Bana, Sadie Sink, Sylvia Hoeks, Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, Justine Del Corte, Joone Dankou, Lara Feith, Sira-Anna Faal. (English, German dialogue.)

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