The Assignment (1997) User Reviews

The best spy thriller

[Luigi Di Pilla · 8/10 · 14 July 2002]

It worked! Director Christian Duguay created a very clever action/spy thriller. The actors Donald Sutherland and especially Aidan Quinn gave a top performance. What a pity that we couldn´t see Aidan Quinn in others movies like this one till now. He was simply the best in the role as Ramirez/Carlos for what he should have earned the Oscar. The picture was very nice. The scenes are fast paced from beginning to the end and the story doesn´t let you a chance to get bored. The movie is too underrated and I recommend it to anyone otherwise you will miss something great. Believe me you will not be disappointed. That´s why i give it 9/10.

The REAL Jackal

[Rumples · 7/10 · 29 November 1998]

This is certainly a quality movie with a classy cast. As far as movies about Carlos the Jackal go, this one beats Bruce Willis' feeble efforts in 'The Jackal' to a bloody pulp, then spits on them. I am a bit surprised that this movie hasn't attracted more votes, something of a 'sleeper' obviously. A pity because this film is definitely worth a watch. It is clever and never dull. See it, 7/10

Pretty good thriller dealing with a case of deadly impersonation , known terrorist Carlos the Jackal.

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 24 June 2019]

Intriguing and tense movie full of suspense from the beginning to the end , being based upon a true story , about an ordinary man recruited to impersonate an ominous murderer . Good and attractive film plenty of tension , action and entertainment . This well-paced picture is packed with historic events , tension , hectic intrigue and the suspense is maintained throughout . The deeds of this exciting movie start in Vienna , there takes a place a notorious kidnap executed by a nasty terrorist . This is a historical event of attacking the OPEC meeting by the Jackal and his fellows in 1975 . Later on , in Jerusalem , Lieutenant Commander Annibal Ramírez (Aidan Quinn) of the US Navy is detained and interrogated by who he eventually learns is Mossad in a case of mistaken identity. As the Mossad agent Amos (Ben Kingsley) captures the man whom he thinks is Carlos , only he's a double , US officer Annibal . Then , he is recruited for an operation to eliminate his lookalike , infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal who is largely shown plying his trade . So a CIA counterterrorism expert named Shaw (Donald Sutherland) and Amos decide to turn the officer into the terrorist in order to catch him . As they scheme an elaborate plot to have Carlos' Russian handlers (KGB) , as they think the terrorist has betrayed them .

Decent and workmanlike film based on a thrilling script written by Dan Gordon and Sabi Shabtai . This stirring picture is full of suspense , tension , thrills and is very entertaining , though overlong . There are some perfectly mounted set-ups for a somewhat efficient payoff . The film's intrigue snowballs toward a surprising final . We see this sensational film not only by its action and intrigue but also by the historical deeds that are well depicted and related to criminal terrorist Carlos the Jackal . Extraordinary casting , all of whom give admirable acting , such as starring Aidan Quinn who plays perfectly a double role ; both , a dynamic seaman and the most cold-blooded and vicious killer ; brilliant Ben Kingsley as the intelligent Mossad agent , and , of course , Donald Sutherland's interpretation who steals the show as the haughty counterterrorism expert Jack Show . Support cast is frankly good , such as : Claudia Ferri , Celine Bonner , Liliana Komorwska , Von Flores , Al Waxman , Daniel Pilon and Vlasta Vrana.

It contains a moving and adequate musical score by Normand Corbeil . As well as an evocative and appropriate cinematography by David Franco and Christian Duguay himself . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Christian Duguay . Chistian's smoothly persuasive direction attracted reception by the public and was a success at the box office . Christian Duguay was born in 1957 in Outremont, Québec, Canada . Frequently casts Donald Sutherland and he is former husband of Liliana Komorowska . He is a director and assistant director, known for Scanners II and III , Human trafficking (2005), Art of war (2000) , Extreme Ops , Boot Camp , Rouge Brésil (2012) . Furthermore , he has directed various historical TV series , such as : The Medici , Joan of Arc , Pío XII , San Agustín , Anna Karenina , Coco Chanel , Guillermo Tell and Hitler: The Rise of Evil , among others . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average . Well worth seeing .

This movie never lets up.

[TC-4 · 12 January 1999]

I don't usually like these kind of espionage movies due to their being dull and predictable. Well, I have changed my mind with this one. This was a real sleeper with a real intelligent story line that keeps you guessing and surprised throughout. Also the surround sound and the great camera work really adds to it. On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10 as I don't know how you could make a better film on this subject.

A sleeper of a spy thriller!

[sid33 · 7/10 · 25 March 1999]

I found this movie to be quite enjoyable and fairly entertaining. Good characters,good actors and enough suspense to keep your interest throughout. The plot twists might have been a bit much but overall a decent thriller. If you liked this film I would recommend The Spanish Prisoner, The House of Games and No Way Out.

The other side of Aidan Quinn!

[Truman_Burbank · 7/10 · 2 June 2001]

I must say I didn't expect much about this movie, but it turned out not to be bad at all. Most striking of course, was Aidan Quinn's performance. I would never expect to see this fine actor as an action hero. The great thing about it is that he really builds up his character (Annibal). I mean, it was not like Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis would do it, he was sensitive and modest. For example, he's really upset when he kills someone. I also noticed that some clichés were avoided. When Annibal gets his training, you would easily expect him to be a rebel and act like any average American would do in such a situation, ask what the f*** is going on and refusing to cooperate. But Annibal is a professional marine officer, he doesn't give up and he tries not to lose his courage, in which he succeeds pretty well, except for a brief break-down on Christmas Eve, which I think was very realistic. I'm glad that Aidan Quinn got this opportunity to show another side of him (in fact two, because he plays the villain as well), even although the film wasn't that successful.

An Outstanding Espionage/Terrorist Thriller

[CitizenCaine · 9/10 · 4 September 2003]

The Assignment is an outstanding thriller with several plot twists driven by character, rather than star turns, the need to stage special effects, obligatory romance, and endless car chases. However, there is a car chase in here, and a dandy it is. Aidan Quinn is wonderful as both the terrorist and the naval officer "recruited" to eliminate him. It is rare that a second or third tier actor, such as Quinn, is given an important starring role like this that carries a film. Usually, such a role is given to an A-list actor with box office draw, which is probably why I never heard of this film before I saw it. Donald Sutherland is great as the morally ambiguous, somewhat creepy at times, agent that recruits Quinn. Ben Kingsley is fine also as the Israeli agent. The plot is very complex and there are multiple story lines, which converge in gradual fashion toward the end, and not all at once as we're used to seeing. The paranoia and claustrophobia of these type of thrillers is captured and portrayed with both moral ambiguity and frightening intensity. The locations are convincing and effective. The soundtrack is nothing special, but rarely do we get all of the above mentioned qualities these days, without dumb and/or meaningless plot developments; unconvincing star turns; loud, annoying, music video type soundtracks; a villain that hams it up; and repeatedly a cast, costumes, and plot that cater mostly to an audience under 25. This is an outstanding thriller, which most assuredly did not get its just due upon its release. ***1/2 of 4 stars.

Good lesser known action/thriller

[Maziun · 7/10 · 2 October 2013]

„The Assignment" is a good movie that reminds a bit a Bourne movie . There is quite a lot story here – more than in a typical action movie . The movie is based somewhat on real story. It's probably isn't 100 % true , yet it feels like it happened for real.

The movie does look cheesy in some places and the special effects are outdated ( for example the hallucinations) . The movie could also be directed better by Christian Dugay . It takes a while for the audience before we really become interested in the story.

Thankfully the screenplay is strong enough to give us interesting movie. It's based heavily on psychology . The whole training part is probably the best and most interesting part of the movie . It doesn't feel far-fetched and makes you really care about the character. Sure there are some action scenes and they are good too ( the chase scene is exciting) , but the main attraction is how our hero changes during the movie. There are some nice twists along the story , even if some of them are predictable.

Aidan Quinn gives a great performance . He has a lot to play and he plays it really well . His transformation in a completely different person is very believable. I wonder why he didn't made a career . Ben Kingsley and Donald Sutherland give him a solid support . Kingsley role is relatively small , but important. Sutherland pretty much is also a main hero of the movie along Quinn.

"The Assignment" is a bitter movie about world of spies and terrorists. It's entertaining and not shallow . It deserves a little more recognition. I give it 7/10.

Extremely underrated, first-rate action/thriller!

[Renaldo Matlin · 9/10 · 1 November 2003]

This movie really proves that the world is all too often an unfair place, especially the world of motion pictures. "The Assignment" received barely any attention upon it's release and not surprisingly flopped at the box-office, but when history will be written this movie will most surely receive some long lost praise.

Thank God I'm surrounded by friends who knows what's good for me. Being a movie buff like myself a pal highly recommended "The Assignment", a movie I hadn't even heard about. I decided to check out what Leonard Maltin gave it, and not surprisingly he gave it **1/2. Knowing that this is the same grade he gave classics like "Alien", "The Usual Suspects" and "The Matrix" (I kid you not) I knew his meaning didn't mean diddly squat jack s***. So without hesitating I went out and bought it on DVD. This was about 3 years ago and the movie is still one of my proudest belongings in my DVD collection, despite a cover design that echoes a low budget stinker with Casper Van Dien.

"The Assignment" is expertly directed, delivering some really intense moments that will hold you on the edge of your seat throughout the movie, on top of that it boasts an at times brilliant story that you know will be riddled with unexpected twists and turns. It stars Aidan Quinn in one of his best performances, and serves him with great support by Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley who are both in great form.

Something like 40 out of 42 user comments like this movie, most of them can't seem to praise it enough. So what are you waiting for? If you call yourself a fan of action-thrillers you should have bought it, rented it, seen it YESTERDAY!

Good and Under-rated Movie

[nicholls_les · 7/10 · 12 July 2016]

This is a really well made movie. The films opening shows some amazing cinematography and the way it is directed keeps everything moving at the right pace.

It is hard to believe that this is based on truth, although I don't know how much is actually true. I know Carlos the Jackal was a real person but was there really a lookalike involved in his capture? Aidan Quinn is brilliant in this, in my opinion he is a very under rated actor. Donald Sutherland is perfect in his role as is Ben Kinsley.

Only down side there is a little too much bad language but I know this doesn't bother most people these days.

Weak throughout

[jochen-5 · 4/10 · 28 January 1999]

If you like well developed characters, then this one is NOT for you. None of them manage to pull off what they are meant to portray and the most enjoyable aspect were some of the nude scenes which should be a (brief) feast for the eye for both sexes alike.

Sutherland's voice is great as always but the movie does not manage to put the viewer in touch with the real Carlos.

Most disappointing is the yawning predictability (no surprises) of what is meant to be a spy thriller.

A brilliant, complex, entertaining thriller

[Verbal-17 · 10/10 · 12 August 1998]

This is one of the best thrillers I've seen. It's intelligently made and brilliantly filmed, and is one of the few thrillers that creates complex, interesting characters and makes the movie about them, not the action. I would recommend it to just about anyone, especially people who like movies with both style and substance.

A rather good action thriller, but...

[buiger · 6/10 · 8 January 2010]

A rather good action thriller, but I would have preferred if it was a little more realistic. They tried in some places to go for it, but not all the way (probably for commercial reasons). It's a pity really, since this is a well made movie, but one that had the potential to be much more. If they had made it more realistic, and by that I mean with less James Bond-like shoot-outs, less beautiful women, less funny communists, etc... this motion picture could have been excellent. They just had to use more of the truth and they would have made something much better. The screenplay does cunningly use small parts of the truth in constructing the fiction that this film really is, but this is not nearly enough. I do not believe that they should have made a documentary, but a little less 'artistic creativity' would have actually been 'more' in this case.

In other, the camera and sound are also not exceptional which further detracts from the viewing pleasure. All in all, an above average movie, but nothing more.

Terrorist porn (on a comic-book level)

[210west · 4/10 · 31 July 2021]

So it turns out that Carlos, a/k/a The Jackal, was a sexual superstar, the world's greatest lover, able to make beautiful women swoon and beg for his lovemaking. And he was also, it turns out, a superhuman acrobatic killing machine, a combination of James Bond, Jack Reacher, and John Wick, able to wipe out would-be assassins by the dozens (including fully equipped Russian hit teams), outshoot professional snipers, jump from rooftops, beat up his enemies, and basically swagger around, sometimes in neat disguises, like an invincible comic-book supervillain.

Aidan Quinn spends the first half of this movie undergoing a highly implausible CIA/Mossad-sponsored training regimen so that he'll be able to impersonate Carlos and eventually kill him -- or that's the plan, at any rate, the "assignment" of the title. The training (including some gratuitous sexual training) is ridiculous; and the movie gets even sillier in the second half, with an equally gratuitous car chase.

The most unfortunate thing about it is that it seems downright worshipful of Carlos, depicting him the way he'd no doubt want to be portrayed, as a supremely glamorous international badass. It almost seems designed to win him fans.

kept my butt up

[the bee · 16 May 1999]

Very late one night, I happened to click to some cable station that had a movie starting called "The Assignment". I had heard that it was a well made movie from my mother, but who listens to their mother's opinion about movies? Especially about some espionage thriller. Well --- who likes to admit when their mother is right...about anything? Well --- my mother was right. I was up all night, until 4 in the morning, alone, watching this movie, getting paranoid and sucked into its classically told story. The acting was superlative, the direction was on target - which could also be said for the aim of the actors (a lot of gun play), and best of all, it didn't telegraph where the plot was heading. It's a perfect set-up for a franchise, (sorry to sound like an executive at some lumbering movie studio) because I'd be completely interested to see the next adventures of these well rounded characters - and the actors that play them. To the film makers: Do more of these! To the movie watching audience: watch it! watch it with someone you love, as the old saying goes...not because it's romantic, but rather, it's a movie that you need to grab hold of someone during those extra exciting parts. No joke. (the sex scenes teach you a thing or too, as well. A movie that's entertaining, as well as informative! Hey! Now that's a novelty.)

Clichéd and Convoluted

[kenjha · 6/10 · 3 May 2009]

A naval officer is recruited to impersonate an infamous terrorist for whom he is a dead ringer. The film is well-paced and has plenty of action, but the plot is clichéd (as are the characters) and somewhat convoluted (including an ambiguous ending) - not to mention far-fetched. It is well acted by Quinn in the dual role of hero and terrorist, Sutherland as a CIA agent, and Kingsley as an Israeli terrorism expert. It is hard to take any of it seriously, particularly the central premise of two unrelated men looking and sounding exactly alike (they even have the same haircut!). It plays like a TV movie, perhaps not surprising, given director Duguay's background.

The man with Carlos' face.

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 21 April 2011]

***SPOILERS*** A bit overcomplicated and confusing spy thriller involving US Navy Lt. Commander Cuban born Annibal Ramirez, Adian Quinn, who's recruited with a little bit of arm twisting by the CIA and Israeli Mossad to play the part of Carlos the Jackel in that Annibal is the spitting image of the notorious assassin. Behind all this cloak and dagger stuff is Paris CIA Director Jack Shaw, Donald Southerland, who has it in Carlos for strictly personal reasons! That's when back in September 1974 Carlos, disguised as a 1960's type of hippie, slipped right through his fingers and ended up blowing up a Paris café with Shaw, who survived the blast, being in it!

Shaw with the help of Mossad Agent Amos,Ben Kingley, teach Ramirez all about Carlos' quirks and habits as well as his style, rough to the point of almost killing his partner, of lovemaking and send him out to Libya in a plot to have him make his backers, the Soviet KGB, think that he's about to turn on them and join the other side": The USA and its Western allies! This all has Ramirez end up killing a number of French Secret Agents, who raided his love nest, who mistakenly think that he's Carlos.

Carlos himself in thinking he's being set up has one of his henchman Japanese assassin Koj, Von Flores, travel to Paris to knock off his girlfriend Agnieska, Liliana Komorowaka, who mistook Ramirez for himself whom Carlos feels betrayed him to the French Secret Service. Ramirez together with Shaw and Amos who just happened to be in Paris at the time of Agnieska's murder is later confronted by Koj who realizes, by Ramirez not knowing the right code word, that he isn't Carlos who then takes him, with a gun pointed in his gut, to a airport mens-room in order to knock him off! It's then that Amos comes to Ramirez's rescue by not only taking out the surprised Koj but taking a bullet or two for him at the same time!

***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Meamwhile the KGB smells a rat in Carlos in him suspected of working for American intelligence,the CIA, and raid his pad outside East Berlin in order to take him in for questioning. This lead to a free for all shootout at Carlos', who was buff naked at the time, love pad where he's later run down by Ramirez who together with his boss Shaw were outside watching the whole spectacle. With both Carlos & Ramirez slugging it out Shaw not knowing which is which ends up shooting and seriously wounding the wrong man, Ramirez, with Carlos, now with his clothes on, getting away!

The film ends in a confusing note with Ramirez now fully recovered from his wounds back in the states reunited with his wife and young son and Carlos now a man not only without a country but wanted by his former employers the KGB who've got a 50 million dollar or ruble contract out on him. We've still got a big surprise coming at the end the movie that's not at all lacking in surprises but by the time it hits us were just too numb or punch-drunk,in all the surprises we've already seen, to both notice or appreciate it!

great thriller with action, plot, characters and suspense

[River4Rain · 10/10 · 20 April 2003]

This is probably one of the best thrillers I have ever seen. It has action, but not this bullet-flying, good guys - bad guys, van damme - stallone action, but quick, realistic and nervous action, it has a plot, cause till the very end of the movie you don't know how this is gonna end, it has characters, aidan quinn, donald sutherland and ben kingsley are just perfect, and it has suspense, this movie just won't let you go away before you've seen the end of it.

Though there are only a few characters, I didn't find it difficult to keep my attention the the story, and as for the story, it's basic (not too tom clancy-difficult, but simple and raw) and realistic.

If you're in for a movie with a good story, some action and great acting, watch this and I promise, you won't go away till you've seen the end of it. The very end of it.

Starts promisingly,but is unforgivably confusing.

[ianlouisiana · 6/10 · 10 September 2008]

With an opening "hommaged" from "A Touch of Evil"I had high hopes of "The Assignment",but gradually they faded and I settled for "time passer".I lost track of when Aidan Quinn was playing a Naval Officer,a terrorist or a Naval Officer playing a terrorist.I couldn't see the point of the fairly graphic sex scenes - apart from the obvious one.We are told Quinn will have to learn how Carlos "makes love" to his mistresses - do we really need to see this being demonstrated at inordinate length? And why does it take so damn long to recruit him?We know he will take the job in the end for heaven's sake................... Having said that,there are some fun moments in this movie,mostly concerning uber ham Donald Sutherland alternately smiling,snarling and sneering at Quinn,sometimes within the same sentence.He isn't really trying but he still manages to dominate the movie. Ben Kingsley looks soulful,makes a few half - hearted Jewish quips just in case we forget he's in Mossad and takes a bullet for Quinn before dying with a half smile on his lips - a neat trick if you pull it off. None of the women have to do much apart from submitting to Mr Quinn in his various personae,which they do - it must be said - in different degrees of poor grace,the poor dears. For tackling a subject usually dealt with by blockbusters the producers are to be commended for refraining from budget - busting FX and concentrating more on character,it's just a pity the characters weren't a little bit more believable. In today's world awash with suicide bombers and electronic surveillance, old -style independent terrorists like Carlos are an endangered species,you knew where you were with his ilk - throw enough money at them and bob's your uncle.Now nobody seems to care whether they live or die the ball game has changed just a little bit.If I looked an awful lot like Osama bin Laden I might be afraid of being shot on sight but I don't think there'd be much point in Donald Sutherland trying to recruit me.

Slick, tidy, and well-made old school version of a great international thriller.

[mhasheider · 9/10 · 4 February 2002]

Slick, tidy, and well-made old school version of how a great international thriller should be made. Determined to nail a feared global terrorist who is known as "Carlos the Jackal", Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland, "Without Limits", "Space Cowboys"), a CIA operative and his Israeli counterpart, Amos (Ben Kingsley, "Gandhi", "Sexy Beast") get a noble Naval officer, Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn, "Music of the Heart"), to become Carlos and use him in a daring plot to get the KGB to kill the real Carlos, because he took an offer from the CIA. Sutherland and Kingsley are both good here, but the movie really belongs to Quinn here, who embodies himself here (in a dual role). Director Christian Duguay and cinematographer David Franco provide another great asset of the film here with Hitchcockian-like suspense and great sights of the world.

How Far Will You Go in the Name of Counterterrorism?

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 26 October 2020]

Ugh! I don't like these mind games. We have two characters who are identical now I have to figure out who's who. This has been done in various genres with movies like "Big Business" with Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler, "Dead Ringers" with Jeremy Irons, "Dead of Winter" with Mary Steenburgen, "Double Impact" with Jean-Claude Van Damme, "Twin Dragons" with Jackie Chan, and others.

In this movie, "The Assignment," there is a super-terrorist named Carlos (Aidan Quinn) who has no regard for human life. He has evaded all law enforcement agencies, and one man, CIA agent Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland), has a particular pining for him. Carlos is all but abandoned as far as a target until a doppelganger named Annibal Ramirez (also Aidan Quinn) is taking shore leave in Israel. Once he was able to convince Israeli counterterrorism agent Amos (Ben Kingsley) that he wasn't Carlos, he was recruited by Amos and Shaw to help capture Carlos.

The plan was simple, yet so very complex. Amos and Shaw were going to train Annibal to be Carlos so that they could set Carlos up. If Annibal could convince the watchful eye of the KGB that Carlos was selling intel to the CIA, then the KGB would do the world a favor and kill Carlos itself.

Carlos, like most bad guys, was a hard target. But what I appreciated about this movie is that it wasn't riddled with thousands of spent rounds, ridiculous car chases, and superfluous explosions. The point was that Carlos was hard to get to, not hard to kill. It wasn't as if Carlos was just outrunning everyone, he was just that adept at laying low and being well guarded.

"The Assignment" showed just how far a government, or just some government agents, will go to get a precious target. Boundaries of personal ethics were really pushed in this movie. There comes a point in which you have to ask yourself, "Where does country rank on my list of priorities and allegiances?" Is it above self? Is it above religion? Is it above family? Maybe the answers are easy when a person is musing by himself on his porch on a Saturday afternoon, but what about when a CIA agent is working you and working you from every angle? It becomes a little cloudy then.

the opening shot

[concerning · 1/10 · 2 July 2006]

Who decided to have two kids URINATING ON THE TITLE OF THE FILM? WHY!? I genuinely don't understand why they did that. That first ridiculous oversight paved the way for the poorest film i've ever seen. Every performance was sub average, many of the scenes were unbelievable and corny, the action was totally cheesy, the storyline was flimsy and hilarious and the script made me want to cry several times. I'm in awe that so many people actually liked this film, and it sickens me to think that there is an audience stupid enough to fall for this tripe. I hated the main character. Oh, and two unknown kids URINATE ON THE TITLE OF THE FILM. Classic.

Brilliant new take

[sparklesap · 9/10 · 29 September 2005]

If you liked the Richard Chamberlain version of the Bourne Identity then you will like this too...Aiden Quinn does this one brilliantly, you can't help but wonder if he is really out there...I reckon he and the other main cast members probably had nightmares for weeks after doing this movie as it's so intense. When I first saw it I was just flicking channels on the remote late one evening..& I got hooked within minutes. look up www.answers.com for Ilich Ramírez Sánchez who is the character that "carlos the Jackal" is based on for both... I remember reading about Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's arrest in the paper in 1997. It was front page for weeks, through the trial after his arrest.

Jon Monsarrat review: silly with great acting

[johnnymonsarrat · 6/10 · 6 September 2002]

I'm an action movie kind of guy. And I've recently been renting a lot of Ben Kingsley films. So I came into "The Assignment" with a good attitude.

Unfortunately, while it was well executed and well acted, the pace dragged a little and some of the plot twists nonsensical. Most of the film is build-up rather than action. Worse than Die Hard 3, about the same as The Bourne Identity.

Who should see this film:

-- action movie buffs, on a rainy day with nothing better to do

-- Ben Kingsley fans (but see Death and the Maiden first)

I'll give The Assignment an OK, nothing special 6 out of 10.

Let down by being unrealistic and predictable

[FatPhil · 5/10 · 25 April 2003]

I can't believe anyone found the twists in this movie surprising, as it's formulaic and is full of clicheed elements. It's quite tense at times, though, so it's still worth seeing.

Film smartarses are encouraged to call for stunts, effects, or details before they happen. e.g. In one car chase, how/where will the pursuer's car flip, and will it explode after it lands?[*] After you've called half a dozen such things, and been right about them, you'll be writing the rest of this commentary, I've said enough.

Phil

[* of course it does, all cars explode when flipped, didn't you know that?]