A Breed Apart (TV 1998)
"Perfect Assassins" (original title)

When Dr Ben Carroway (McCarthy) is involved in an assassination where the killers commit suicide once trapped he finds that the killers have no criminal record. However they are all ... See full summary »

Director:

H. Gordon Boos

Writer:

John Penney

Stars:

Andrew McCarthy, Robert Patrick, Portia de Rossi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew McCarthy	...	Ben Carroway
Robert Patrick	...	Leo Benita
Portia de Rossi	...	Lana Collins
Nick Mancuso	...	Samuel Greely
Matthew Laurance	...	Special Agent Clark
Aaron Lohr	...	Billy Collins
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Janice Franklin
Denise Johnson	...	Little Girl
Gusti Diego	...	Carlos Currasco
Michelle Madden	...	Anchor Woman
Gunnar Peterson	...	News Producer
Martin Morales	...	Cantina Reporter
Kevin McLaughlin	...	Truckman
Aki Aleong	...	Dr. Arnold Kuay
Kim Huff	...	Ben's Mother

Storyline

When Dr Ben Carroway (McCarthy) is involved in an assassination where the killers commit suicide once trapped he finds that the killers have no criminal record. However they are all registered missing children and he sets on a journey of discovery with one of the killer's sister (Portia de Rossi) and a mob hitman (Robert Patrick). In Mexico they find a mansion in large grounds belonging to disgraced Dr Greely where children are taught to be killers by a regime of mental conditioning and they plan to put an end to the conspiracy.

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Plot Keywords:

assassination | suicide | mexico | death of brother | sedation | 

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Breed Apart

Company Credits

Production Co:

Promark Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Special Agent Clark: An assassin's the secound oldest profession in the world.
Ben Carroway: Next to being a whore!

User Reviews

Not as bad as it could have been....

When Dr Ben Carroway (McCarthy) is involved in an assassination where the killers commit suicide once trapped he finds that the killers have no criminal record. However they are all registered missing children and sets on a journey with one of the killer's sister (Portia de Rossi) and a mob hitman (Robert Patrick).

This is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Usually anything with Andrew McCarthy in the lead is the equivalent of the kiss of death, but here he seems to have done alright here. The action scenes are fast moving and have a quota of tension, even the gunfights etc are exciting if a little far fetched at times. The main strength here is the plot, it starts out a little unbelievable but once it starts moving you forget the problems and see the bigger picture. The story holds several little twists and turns that hold the interest well, and the final resolution tidies up the problems of the unbelievable story by offering a solution that isn't that far-fetched (in fact depressingly possible). Nick Mancuso's Dr Greely is far too hammy and is bordering on a bad spoof of a bond villain, but happily he doesn't drag the surrounding film down with him.

McCarthy is pretty good as the hero and only the plot makes his job harder by making it all too personal and relying on too many coincidences. Patrick is as good as he usually is, albeit he's lumbered with the wise-cracking mobster but he still is entertaining. Rossi (best known for Ally McBeal) does well at first as the sister of a stolen child, but her sudden transformation into a gun-toting fearless warrior is a little too much to swallow.

Overall this is much better than you'd expect from this type of DTV film, the plot is a little far-fetched at times but the drama and action make up for the lack of realism.