The Assignment

First time reviewer. What prompted me to write about this movie is how unusual it is. Interesting premise, and yet written as if by a talented high schooler. The dialogue is so obviously artificial and yet written with artistic intent. An unsympathetic viewer will rightly trash the film as juvenile, and yet a more open viewing may perceive the strained charm that the film almost achieves.

Consider the experiment. Would changing a violent man's gender change him for the better? Interesting question (at least for me). More broadly, how would such a man respond to the sudden change? The movie attempts to present this scenario and provide an interesting response. I think it succeeds.

Look past the actual effects that change Rodriquez into a man. Sure, they don't perfectly succeed, but suspend your critical attention and accept the basic fact of his existence. You can also look past Weaver's awkward dialogue and forced encounters and simply take what she says without concern for verisimilitude, if you can.

This film is deeply flawed and deserves a poor grade, and yet offers an interesting and fairly entertaining experience. I would take this over the multitude of blockbusters that spend millions on special effects and star actors and then forget to pay a decent writer. Movies that have no point, no ambition, and nothing to say.

Well, the Assignment as something to say, and it's worth hearing.

The Assignment (2016)

*** (out of 4)

Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez) is a hitman who pulls a job not knowing what impact it will have on him. It turns out that he murdered the brother of a doctor (Sigourney Weaver) who gets her revenge by kidnapping Frank and turning him into a woman. Now, as a woman, Frank must seek revenge against those who did this to him.

Walter Hill got back into the director's chair with THE ASSIGNMENT, which is certainly one of the biggest WTF movies to come along in a very long time. Seriously, this here is something you would have expected in the 1970s but not in today's political climate. Sure enough, the film was released to all sorts of controversy with various groups being offended by the story. I must admit that there are a lot of flaws with the movie but at the same time it's so darn weird that I couldn't help but be entertained.

As I said, this is a very strange movie on a lot of levels but if you've ever wanted to see Rodriguez with a beard and a dick then you'll love it. Yes, you actually see that as the film is quite sleazy in its own right and that includes a lot of nudity once the "female" side comes out. The movie is somewhat brave in what it attempts to do and I guess you could say that Rodriguez gives a rather brave performance. Not only is she constantly naked on the screen but this wasn't the easiest roles to pull off. She certainly handles the action quite nicely and she's strong enough to hold your attention throughout.

I think the biggest problem with the film are the scenes inside the mental hospital where the Weaver character is telling her story. These scenes really take away from the revenge side of things and there's just no doubt that these moments aren't nearly as entertaining as the stuff with the hitman seeking revenge. The action scenes are directed quite nicely by Hill and it was great seeing him add some style back to his films. The movie looks and sounds quite good but it does start to lose its story as it moves along.

THE ASSIGNMENT isn't a film meant for everyone but if you like weird movies you should find it entertaining.

...then started to doze off. Came to look at the reviews before deciding if I should finish it, and they made my decision for me - not going to. Women playing men never works in movies. They try to adjust their voices, and it just sounds fake. And most don't walk anything like men, and the hips certainly don't lie. Also, the transition was far to unbelievable - it was basically instant. Other than that, the action wasn't particularly exciting. No idea where the story line on Weaver's character goes, but I lost interest and simply don't care. I doubt you will either.

The plot is centered on a hit man named Frank Kitchen, played by Michelle Rodriguez, who pisses off the wrong black market plastic surgeon (Sigourney Weaver) by killing her brother being Rodriguez's assignment. Exacting her revenge on Kitchen, the doctor in a rather unorthodox method forces a sex change operation on him to become a woman as a form of psychological torture on Frank to endure the rest of his/her life without any way of fully reversing the procedure. Obviously a tad bit peeved by this, Frank Kitchen seeks retribution for the crimes committed against his body and goes on a one-way killing spree to end the evil doctor's rein of terror.

On paper, this sounds like it would be interesting. No matter what one person's views may be on how good or bad the premise sounds, it is a safe bet that most would hear this synopsis and be at least a little intrigued by it. I can't say that I've ever come across a movie with a plot motivation even remotely similar to "The Assignment". Unfortunately the execution felt sloppy, drawn out, dull, and all around unoriginal. This same exact movie could probably exist beat for beat without the introduction to any sort of gender reassignment operation in the script. Just another quick rewrite and this is your basic revenge film, only with far less interesting characters or action set pieces to be entranced by. The movie goes back and forth within its timeline to tell the story with one line following the plot of Frank Kitchen getting the procedure done to him and seeking answers as well as revenge on the doctor. The second line is set after the events of Kitchen finding and putting an end to the doctor's black market business with the doctor being interviewed by a psychiatrist in an insane asylum about what really went down. The secondary thread feels like a waste of time only to put the plot on hold and pad out the film to make its 90 minute run time.

If everything containing Sigourney Weaver in the interview sections were taken out, while putting more focus on the actual main plot to include maybe some more character development and hopefully a lot more action beats, this movie would have succeeded at being an entertaining sit. Unfortunately those sections remain, leaving the story to feel dry and leaving zero impact. I know little to nothing about Frank Kitchen, nor do I care about him/her. Michelle Rodriguez does a great job, as always, being a total bad-ass. She carries her own very well, knows how to come across as intense and cool at all times. Her character just has little for her to work with, but she sells being a man forcefully transitioned into a woman terrifically.

As I mentioned before, the movie could have used some more action beats. The action is so minimal and shortly lived I couldn't find much fun to be had. No real intensity or thrills from any action scene on screen. The script comes across as if the writer was twiddling his thumbs until the script reached the hour and a half mark. It has no bite to the action or story, no defining personality that can't be found in countless other revenge films, and such limited humor with a premise as quirky as this could have greatly used. Plus with a plot revolving a hit man turned into a woman, the writers had so many opportunities to play with that idea. There are several scenarios, gimmicks, tricks, and just fun that could have been toyed around with to mix things up and give a much more unique experience. Instead the screenplay squanders this and gives nothing in return. It's as though the first act setup and the prologue were extended and edited into the entirety of the film. For myself, that didn't work and I found myself pretty bored throughout. Also there was one or two plot twists that of course a film like this has, one of them made zero sense and could have been cut while the other had no emotional impact on me whatsoever.

This movie is from the same director that gave us "The Warriors", "48 Hours", "Another 48 Hours", "The Driver", "Red Heat", "Last Man Standing"...this man knows how to make an action movie. This man knows how to make a unique premise memorable, fun, humorous, intense, cool, and exhilarating. I don't understand what happened here. From the direction I could tell this was Walter Hill's style, it is a decent looking film with competently made action sequences. Rare as those scenes may be. In the end, this film isn't truly awful but it doesn't have nearly enough entertainment value to it in order for myself to recommend it. Michelle Rodriguez has a good action lead presence, but isn't given enough character to sink her teeth into. Sigourney Weaver plays crazy pretty well and I did like her performance, but there was more character development provided for her in detriment to Rodriguez's character. The action held little to no impact or energy and the story is nothing memorable. I got nothing else for this movie and I honestly wrote about it way more than I intended. Go watch "The Warriors" if you need a Walter Hill action movie fix.

After waking up and discovering that he's been betrayed by gangsters (Anthony LaPaglia) and undergone gender reassignment surgery , an assassin (Michelle Rodriguez) aware he's been double crossed , then seeking to encounter the doctor responsible and at whatever cost . The hitman now a hitwoman sets out for vendetta against those who betrayed him , and he'll stop at nothing to get them , and eliminating one by one his enemies . Along the way , she is helped by a nurse named Johnnie (Caitlin Gerard) who also has dark secrets , too . One job changed it all !. A revenger's tale !. Payback's !.

Thriller crime containing unstopped action , betrayals galore , violent events , twists and turns . Lots of slam-bang action , shouting , swearing , shooting and there is graphic violence as well as other convenient elements with no much sense , at times it seems too similar to Hill's previous films . The Assignment (2016) is based on a story and script by Denis Hamill and director Walter Hill himself . The stars are pretty decent , but everything is predictable . Michelle Rodriguez provides a nice but unfriendly interpretation as an ace hired killer suddenly falling into the hands of rogue surgeon known as The Doctor who turns him into a woman. There are enough colourful roles in the support cast delivering acceptable acting, such as : Tony Shalhoub as a strange doctor , Anthony LaPaglia as a cunning mobster , Caitlin Gerard as the girl who aids the series killer , and brief performances from Ken Kirzinger , Darryl Quon , Adrian Hough , Caroline Chan, Paul McGillion and the great Sigourney Weaver giving the best acting .

It packs functional and atmospheric cinematography by cameraman James Liston . And moving and thrilling musical score by the veteran Giorgo Moroder and Raney Shockne . The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Walter Hill , though here he hasn't improved his previous thrillers , resulting in an intriguing but boring and tiring flick .The veteran craftsman Hill is a good writer , producer , filmmaker who has made a lot of films of all kinds of genres , working from late 60s , early 70s to nowadays . As he has directed action movies as Hard times , The driver , Southern comfort , The warriors , Extreme prejudice , 48 Hours , Another 48 hours , Last man standing , Johnny Handsome , Undisputed. Science fiction genre : Supernova . Western: Geronimo American legend , Wild Bill , Long riders . Comedy : Brewster's millions . Terror : Tales of the Crypt . Musical : Crossroads . The Assignment (2016) Rating 5/10. Average and inferior than others Walter Hill pics.