- Actors: Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver
- Director: Walter Hill
- Format: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: R
- Studio: LIONSGATE
- Release Date: June 6, 2017
- Run Time: 98 minutes
Enraging many in
the LGTBQ community (although, in all fairness, these days someone is always
enraged about something on the internet), the basic premise for The Assignment sounds like a comedy, or
at the very least, a campy parody of a politically incorrect grindhouse film
from the 1970s. In fact, the film likely would have worked far better had it
taken itself less seriously. It is still laughable, but not intentionally so,
and the film noir formula is so bleak that there isn’t even any “so bad it’s
good” enjoyment to be found. I don’t know how it’s possible for a film so
controversial to simultaneously be so dull, but that seems to be The Assignment’s only real accomplishment.
At the center of
the film is a completely unbelievable performance from Michelle Rodriguez as a
male hit man named Frank Kitchen. After being double-crossed, Frank awakes to
discover that he has been given gender re-assignment surgery. Somehow nearly as
unconvincing as a woman, the minor silver lining of the film is that this plot
point at least allows Rodriguez to remove the awful facial hair and
prosthetics, though she retains a silly forced deep voice and exaggerated male
demeanor for the remainder of the film. The obvious direction of the plot is a
revenge narrative, though one that is convoluted with all of the twists and
turns expected from a film noir.
Knowing that
this is intended to be a film noir, all of the surprises can be seen long
before they arrive, including the addition of a duplicitous femme fatale
character. Even more obnoxious is the decision to include several speed bumps
into the narrative, in the form of an unnecessary romance, and by continually
cutting to an interrogation of the doctor responsible for the transformation
(played by Sigourney Weaver). This non-linear approach is fitting for a film
noir, but does little for the pacing of the action and doesn’t add anything to
the narrative.
The fact that it
was directed by legendary filmmaker Walter Hill (48 Hrs., The Warriors)
makes The Assignment an even bigger
disappointment. None of the thrills from Hills earlier filmography are present
in this tasteless crime film. The self serious tone of the film prevents even
the exploitation elements from being enjoyable. There is plenty of nudity and
some sex (though rarely in the same scenes), but none is titillating in the
slightest. Rather than being a film that could be heralded by the LGTBQ
community, it plays like a horror parable for alt-right straight men. And even
that could have led to some engaging revenge film action, but The Assignment is violent without ever
being enjoyable. Graphic gore replaces any interesting camera work or
impressive choreography, making it a dark disappointment in every possible way.
The only special
feature in this Blu-ray release is as big of a let-down as the film itself.
Despite the fancy featurette titled “Filmmaking Portraits,” it is merely a
2-minute slideshow of photos from the production. The Blu-ray package also
comes with DVD and Digital HD copies of the film.
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5/10
Historical
Significance: 4.5/10
Special Features: 1/10
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