Jesse Atlas' blandy titled "Assassins" is based on his earlier, more interestingly titled short, "Let them Die Like Lovers." Perhaps the last of Bruce Willis' late career flurry of quickly, cheaply make action flicks, most of which are
largely disposable. Typically they exploit Willis for his star power, hire him for a day to shoot all of his material, and insert it into a movie essentially shot around him. Taking this into account, this film ranks among the top
of its heap. Atlas is clearly a skilled director who knows how to set a scene, make great use of sets to create a sense of place and time, and more importantly, he has a talent director of photography and a strong sense of pacing and creating a mood. The cast led by Nomzamo Mbatha and Andy Allo is quite good, and the script has some nice moments for them to work with (but it also has its share of clunky dialogue, too). The story makes good use of Willis, and Mustafa Shakir appears, who also appeared in the short film.
The premise is a fun one: People, assassins, transfer their minds in other bodies to become murdering "drones" and kill the bad guys. The story play with the concept of identity, and there is a love story underpinning all of this, and while it doesn't all gel, I enjoyed how ambitious the filmmakers were in their attempt. The plot itself is very basic (kill the bad guy), and you are REALLY going to have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy this! But if you can, it is a fun film with some interesting ideas and twists. I enjoyed it, and if it is the last Brue lwillis performance we get, well, I am glad it is this movie and not those Detective Knight abominations. I look forward to seeing Atlas' work in the future.
