The Assignment - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Assignment

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
It’s a strange thing to get older. I’m watching legendary actors go straight to DVD, and legendary directors putting out movies on Netflix only (think Scorsese), and the strange phenomenon of having Walter Hill (director of such hits as The Warriors, 48 Hours, The Driver, and Hard Times) being relegated to making DTV schlock like The Assignment. I’ll fully admit that his work in the 2000’s hasn’t been the greatest, but I truly wince when a legendary director like Walter is forced to come up with complete and utter garbage like the 95 minutes that just passed before my eyes. The Assignment is one giant mess of an action film, with a pseudo intellectual plot that borders on SJW whining at times with its “you are who you feel like” message coursing through it. There was some potential with the odd “fish out of water” scenario where a hitman has plastic surgery to make himself the opposite sex, but the end result is a mishmash of nonsense that had me wishing for a few more beers in the fridge while watching.

Frank Kitchen (played by Michelle Rodriguez with an unconvincing beard and some voice modulation to make her voice more masculine) has been hired to do one more job. However, the brutal hitman ends up double crossed and after getting knocked out wakes up to find out that HE is now a SHE, after having underwent some impressive Face/Off level of plastic surgery (although on a much more intense level). All he’s been left is some hormones to keep his “femininity” façade up, and a message that this was all an elaborate revenge plot by Dr. Rachel Jane (Sigourney Weaver) for Frank’s murder of her no good brother a while back. Now Frank has two motives on his mind. Take revenge on the people who did this to him, and see if there’s any way to revert back to his life as a male.

Simultaneously we also are watching in the mental evaluation of Dr. Jane by prison psychiatrist Ralph Galen (Tony Shalhoub), as it seems she is in that wonderful world of padded rooms and strait jackets. It seems that Ralph is trying to find out why Dr. Jane had murdered her entire staff some time ago, and a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins as Dr. Jane teases and manipulates the prison psychologist for some unknown end. An end that becomes decidedly clear when you realize that while both the story of Dr. Jane and the story of Frank are heavily related, there is a skewed sense of time that makes sense of the connection once that understanding is realized.

The Assignment has an interesting premise, but sadly is just a jumble of scenes from a once legendary director and slapped on screen. In typical Walter Hill fashion, we have some great cinematography and sharp use of cut scenes, but past that this is pure DTV junk. The entire film had me laughing myself into my arm chair as it becomes REALLY obvious what the initial twist will be. Michelle Rodriguez and some CGI do very little to make you believe that Frank was ever a guy to begin with. It’s poor workmanship and it only becomes believable after he/she becomes the female half. Then there’s the constant proletizing by Weaver, who sleep walks her way through the entire film as she spouts platitudes and jargon about “you are what you feel like” in an attempt to blend in with the culture of today that is struggling with the idea of Transgender mentality and the controversy over nonbinary psychology. It gets REALLY cloying after a while and the low budget action movie is not helped by the monologues.

Rodriguez does what she can with the role, but this is nothing more than bottom of the barrel action stuff, and nobody looks like they’re having much fun. Tony Shalhoub is about the only one with a personality in the movie, and the rest of the time we just have Frank running around shooting everyone in his/her way until he can get to Dr. Jane (who is so bored with the film that you can tell she was just waiting for Walter Hill to yell “CUT!” so she could go back to her dressing room). I want to say that there are some redeeming parts of the film, as I look for the good in every movie, but I honestly can’t see any. The unique flair and skill that Hill employs with his cinematography is the only thing that keeps the movie even semi professional, otherwise this would be a definite 1 star or les rating from me.




Rating:

Rated R for graphic nudity, violence, sexuality, language and drug use




Video:

If you’ve watched a lot of Lionsgate films then you know that they have a certain look to many of them. The encodes have some issues with banding and dark shots, but other than that they’re all very technically solid. The same applies here as The Assignment is given a very impressive looking digital shoot that doesn’t stand out, but does look technically well done. The film does have those issues with banding in the darker sequences, but colors are well saturated and the skin tones of Michelle and the rest of the cast look appropriate to the dim lit settings. Fine detail is really nice (sometimes a little TOO nice as you can see the fakeness of Frank’s beard when he’s a HE) and the dim lighting doesn’t take away too much of the shadow detail at all. Intimate items like clothing looks very texturally sound and you can even see individual fibers on jeans and jackets.







Audio:

The singular 5.1 DTS-HD MA track on board is more than capable, but not nearly as robust as I was expecting. Hill employs quite a bit of dialog punctuated with short bursts of extreme violence and action, then settles back down to a simmer once again. The vocals are crisp and clear, with no imbalances or wild swings in dynamic range, only to gain some real power and authority when the bullets start flying. Bass is restrained, but quite visceral during those brief moments of action, adding heavy weight to the 45 caliber 1911’s Frank likes to use (and makes constant mention of the .45’s power a bit TOO often). It’s a good track, but limited by the DTV budget a bit.
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Extras:

• "Filmmaking Portraits" Photo Montage

Final Score: ​

Yeah, not much more you can say about The Assignment then it’s a sad day to see such talent (both in the acting role and directing roles) push out stuff like this. I was actually really excited just from the name Walter Hill alone, but I can’t help but feel a little cheated by the action/thriller. There’s definitely some thought provoking material under the surface, but the execution and pasting together of all the little pieces just leaves quite a bit to be desired. Acting is mediocre, the film is very disjointed, and Hill seems genuinely frustrated trying to put all the puzzle pieces into the right spots. Audio and video are impressive for a DTV flick, but the film and anemic extras leave me recommending that you just skip it completely unless you’re completely bored and this is the only film Netflix has on your queue to watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub
Directed by: Walter Hill
Written by: Denis Hamill, Walter Hill
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 95 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[Todd Anderson]

Ummm... okay. Pass!

 

[Jon Liu]

It really is sad to see the likes of Sigourney Weaver go straight-to-video. I've also got to say, I am really starting to not like Michelle Rodriguez as an actress. She's type-cast, which is fine, but she alters her various roles so very little...

This'll be a hard pass I guess...

 

[Michael Scott]

not a hard choice

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Triple pass... and isn't Sig like 90 years old by now? What... on her 3rd or 4th facelift maybe?

Never have been a fan of Rodriguez either.... just doesn't do anything for me. This movie will bomb... except for some dirty ole men who want to see a little booty... shame shame!

 

[Todd Anderson]

Triple pass... and isn't Sig like 90 years old by now? What... on her 3rd or 4th facelift maybe?

Never have been a fan of Rodriguez either.... just doesn't do anything for me. This movie will bomb... except for some dirty ole men who want to see a little booty... shame shame!

Oh, man. Sonnie. You crack me up.