This is a very well made film; locations are dark and gloomy, and even when there are lots of people around and lots of things happening in the area there is still a feeling of menace, that our protagonists can't let their guard down. There are no awful one-liners that I can recall, the action is well-paced and the script is well-written. This is not a corny film by any means. The actors themselves have to take much of the credit for the quality of the production. Stallone of course takes top billing, and he manages to prove that he is able to take serious roles without lapsing into "buddy" style ("Tango and Cash" being a prime example of this) or carbon-copy action hero mode. In itself this is quite an achievement, especially when he already has an image. Julianne Moore is, in this film, starting to cut her teeth in the business and really brings life to Electra. She gives Electra real character and you actually give a damn what happen to her, unlike most female leads who just seem to be there to scream, cling to the hero character or just have horrible things happen to them.The film has some great action, and great direction from Richard Donner. Everyone and everything in the film makes it great. The whole story with the two rival assassins trying to kill each other and steal each other's jobs I think was really fun and interesting to watch. Stallone and Banderas have good chemistry on the screen, and the intensity is what makes the film great. This film has a number of action scenes that are not too over the top and are not riddled with special effects. All in all this film describes the way of an assassin, lonely, remote, discrete and will provide you with around two hours of suspense.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

What can one write about "Assassins"? It's so bad, that almost every scene should be torn apart for its stupidity, yet the whole movie doesn't deserve 50 words of a review.The story is much more simple, than it pretends to be. Two assassins are given the very same task by some mysterious employer. One of the killers suffers from "an old veteran willing to retire" cliché. The other hit-man however is "a young, flamboyant rookie" (doesn't this characterization recall a much better movie directed by Donner - "Lethal Weapon"?) Needless to say, those cardboard characters are gonna clash more than once and I'm sure you're dying to find out the final result.The horrible script (filled with more then standard amount of clichés, plot holes, logical flaws and contempt for laws of physics) has pretty much given up any attempt at credibility in the first half an hour. The "evil" hit-man (Banderas) escapes arresting by police. He can be hiding anywhere. Yet our "hero" assassin (Stallone) only needs to steal a cab and wait for a passenger willing to reach an airport - miraculously he turns out to be Banderas. Coincidence of such proportions wouldn't a five-year-old, but it's good enough for those allegedly adult writers of "Assassins"Who, one may ask, is given the questionable "credit" for writing this nonsense? Two names shouldn't come as a surprise - Andy and Larry Wachowski, two of the biggest hacks of modern cinema. After getting way too much praise for "Matrix", they thought every junk they produce, will spawn a similar religious following. It seems they were terrible writers before 1999, just not as self-indulgent.A bit more surprising is the third name in the bunch - Brian Helgeland, the Academy Award winner for "L.A. Confidential". It's up to debate, how great the script for Curtis Hanson's noir film really was. Surely, a work of genius compared to "Assassins", though a rest of his career wouldn't prove such quality.Obviously, a script this bad is still a pile of paper, which should never be brought to life. Who takes responsibility here? Surprisingly again, a few acclaimed names and (with exception of miscast Julianne Moore) experienced in making action films. Should we praise Stallone, Banderas or Donner for their mild "competence"? Or maybe we should mock them for embarrassing themselves. I didn't find their effort as a "saving grace" of this film, as much as a "fall from grace" for them.To conclude, this way too long review - "Assassins" is an awful movie, which asks to be annihilated. Luckily, to accomplish this mission, you don't need to hire one or two killers. All you have to do is change the channel.

Robert Rath (Sylvester Stallone) is an assassin for hire. He's looking to get out of the life but his last job gets killed by sociopath competitor Miguel Bain (Antonio Banderas). There's a $2 million contract on surveillance expert Electra (Julianne Moore) who's trying to sell to four Dutch buyers.This is a poorly written script. The beginning doesn't allow the audience to develop any affinity for Sly. Its confused nature gets the movie off on a bad foot. This is a simple assassin versus assassin movie but not one where I care about either one. There are some workable stunt action. Director Richard Donner is unable to bring life to these characters or this movie. The style is too old. Sly is doing quiet talking. Honestly I had trouble understanding some of Banderas' dialog. It's a poor effort from everybody.

What I mean by my title is that Arnold Schwarzenegger's True Lies was a feat of mastery for the action genre. It wasn't just an action film, it was an epic, masterfully created piece of work. It had a very talented director, a sweeping storyline, powerful supporting roles...everything about it worked. Assassins could have been that and in some ways it comes close. You have a legendary action director in place, the action god himself, a worthy villain, and epic storyline, exotic locales. It was a roller coaster ride for me and not just because of the action but how I felt about the film. One moment I was riveted and really enjoying it and then something would happen that would drop it down a few points for me. There was one entire character who I think was entirely mis-cast but I will get to that. The film absolutely gets better as it goes until the epic climatic finale that is truly outstanding. The story is well written and action scenes that are very nearly legendary. The shoot out in the cemetery, the car chase scene with the police and the taxi cab and the finale in the run down church are without a doubt sheer genius. So why isn't Assassins better known? I am completely biased when it comes to Sylvester Stallone. I idolize this man. When I first discovered how much I loved movies I discovered Stallone and he and I spent an inordinate amount of time together when I was a teenager. And yet I had never seen Assassins...don't even know how that happened. So I was on the edge of my seat to see this. Stallone is very good as the emotionally charged and scarred Hit-man who does what he is told in order to get his "mark." He is the best of the best and an event in his past has left him deeply marked. This was a solid role for him and he does well. Many reviewers on IMDb dislike the film but most rave about the performance by Antonio Banderas. Banderas is okay in the role but I would never rave about it. I think he overplays and overdoes the role. The quirky little behaviour and obsessive tics his character has gets old quick and is more distracting than anything and makes it hard to believe his assassin is number two in the world. Stallone and Banderas have good chemistry opposite each other but its not amazing chemistry. Banderas does get significantly better (excellent actually) in the last half hour of the film when he starts to take things more seriously. And not the problem with the film. Now I have the opposite bias for Julianne Moore that I have with Stallone. I don't like her. Never have. She has chosen some good movies and she won't stop me from seeing a movie but I don't enjoy her for whatever reason. I think she is awful in this movie. The character is completely given the wrong persona and she is not believable, distracting, annoying, whiny and the romantic tension with Stallone is SOOO not necessary. Removing her from this film and making the hacker a guy would have made this film at LEAST a nine for me. The three of them simply don't mesh well together and it drags the film down. Stallone and Banderas are okay but you add Moore and the cast is sub-par at best.Richard Donner is a legend just based in my books on one film and a film series alone. That is Superman and the Lethal Weapon films. Those make him action director extraordinaire. His style and exceptional emotional range as a director does truly make this a very good watch and far from just a run and gun, shoot em up flick. It's so close to being great that it hurts. I feel like Banderas and Moore were bad casting or at least Banderas character was over-acted in the beginning. The concept is awesome. Two hit men, one young hot headed newcomer is desperate to eliminate the top hit-man in the world. It's a solid script written by those crazy Wachowski siblings of The Matrix fame proving they have more in them than just Matrix. A better supporting cast, and just a slight tightening of a few details in the script and this could have been really something. However, as it is, its still a great Stallone action flick and worth checking out for a turn off your brain, sit back and enjoy sort of flick. 7.5/10