ASSASSIN CLUB
US/Italy, 2023, 111 minutes, Colour.
Henry Golding, Noomi Roopace, Sam Neill, Daniela Melchior, Jimmy-Jean Louis.
Directed by Camille Delamarre.
This is an action show, rather complicated, which serves as a pastime.
There is an interesting prologue, a scene between a father and daughter, then his assassination and her escape. Towards the end of the film, the audience will understand the significance of what happened, the assassin, the motivation, political repercussions in the Czech Republic.
However, the main focus of this film is on Morgan, played by Henry Golding who made such an impression in Crazy Rich Asians. Formerly in active service, he has been recruited to be an assassin, killer of evil people whom the law cannot touch. An orphan, he was to befriended by Caldwell who trained him and then is his controller. Caldwell is played by Sam Neill at his most British urbane style.
We see Morgan on the job, failing, attacked, almost killed. He has visits with Caldwell, is informed about a plan whereby a rich client has targeted seven assassins. We are soon informed that each of the seven assassins has been commissioned, with promise of $1 million per assassination, to eliminate the others. Morgan has encounters with various assassins, killing them, fighting them, making the agreement with a more sympathetic assassin who lives with his young daughter in Barcelona.
In the meantime, this seems to be a special secret government squad, led by Falk, Noomi Rapace, who has all kinds of agents at her control, all kinds of technology, and a link with police official played by Jimmy-Jean Louis.
One of the credibility drawbacks of the film is the comparative ease with which Morgan can move from assassination scene, from one country to another, and come back to his girlfriend in Rome. But when he has to disappear, he also has a secret apartment in Rome, which, with a eye identification, also holds a huge arsenal as well as an extraordinary amount of surveillance screens.
He is in contact with the leader of the official squad and they play cat and mouse interactions.
Eventually, the villain starts to be unmasked, the confrontation, very urbane then deadly, with Caldwell, the abduction of Morgan’s girlfriend, tied up in a bath with the tap on, and explosives with a timer
Since Morgan is the hero, and wants to avenge Caldwell’s death, as well as to rescue his girlfriend and defuse the explosives, there are some deadly fight sequences with the villain – but a final shot in the street, the bullet seen in close-up slow motion as the villain is killed.
Critical and blogger response to the film has been quite negative – but, as was said, it is an action-thriller, reminiscent of many other films, a time-passer.
