Target of an Assassin

Others have noted the poor production qualities of this film. And that it has a very weak script, with directing to match. It is set in South Africa but has inferior cinematography that gives it a feel of Third World production quality – or that of a B-level film in Hollywood. So, how can it rate as high as a 6? Mostly due to the two main characters and the interaction between them. Sailor Slade and President Lunda, played by Anthony Quinn and Simon Sabela, respectively, add some human depth without which the movie would be flat and dull as a paper plate.

While the plot has some obvious holes, it has just enough intrigue to hold our attention, albeit loosely. Some – I suspect younger reviewers, are taken by John Phillip Law and his performance as Shannon. But his role, as the assassin, seems to be a subplot that at best helps keep a certain level of the intrigue. The real drama, both serious and light- hearted at times, plays out between the two protagonists. Both are older, wiser men, who play off each other nicely.

Those roles are not very strong either, but the plot is interesting enough, and Quinn and Sabela lend a little stature to the film by their performances. This could have been a very good movie with a polished script and a reasonable sum of money spent for quality direction, cinematography and editing.

Peter Collinson, the guy who directed "The Italian Job" (1969), didn't do an extraordinary job here. I do not know who is more to blame, him or the script, probably the script. The movie is boring, hard to digest. There are passages when the music is really annoying. Anthony Quinn tried his best, but unfortunately, this role was not for him. Sometimes he is even embarrassing. John Phillip Law repeated the same scene endlessly, trying to shoot the black president. I only saw the movie because I really like Anthony Quinn, he is one of my favorite actors ever. But not here. I also liked John Philip Law in "Danger: Diabolik" (1968) and "Strogoff" (1970). Not here. One star for Quinn, one for Law.

A movie with actors mouthing lines, dragging on into eternity. Anthony Quinn is considered one of our greatest stars, but every once in a while there is a clinker and this is one of them. The plot itself could be filled out nicely with some decent writing and a little editing. I always marvel at how in movies (Air Force One is an example), there is such incompetence. After a failed assassination attempt there should be an army standing guard and no one but those with total clearance should be in attendance. Still, a kidnapping can take place. Just the international implications boggle the mind. This isn't some guy, sitting in his living room. The other thing is the datedness of this film. Perhaps it's unfair to use this as a criticism. A great many "topical" films of the sixties and seventies seem to wear very poorly. As one looks back, it seems like a hundred years ago. The dialogue is really the most dated of all. If you watch this, you'll wish you had the two hours back at the end of your life.

Yup, a nice coming out of the shower scene with our favourite misfortunately bad "straight to video" actor .. well let's be fair, there are no bad actors of John Phillip Law's calibre, just bad scripts and this is one of them ... man is this ever one of them

Too bad he wasted his time on this lemon, but I purchased it solely because he's in it .. thank God for ebay and the $3.99 movie deals

This confusing muddled mess, I think, after having watched it more than once, revolves around Quinn working in South Africa as a male nurse who, as luck has it, is able to kidnap an African dignitary visiting his hospital for tests, following a failed assassination attempt by Law's character, Shannon .. from a top of a high building ..

What conspires is a jumbled attempt to retrieve the President and the climax of the movie taking place on some remote mountain ledge .. about 15 years before Ruby Ridge and just as forgettable .. and the twist being that the President's own Chief of Staff has hired Law to kill his boss .. a scene we get to see unfold with Law making his best attempt to fit in with the 70's "hey you're too groovy baby" street speak ..

The score, the sound, the audio tracking, the plot, the character development, everything in this film was bad .. it was like being stuck in some really bad Saturday afternoon Kung Fu nightmare .. only worse, cause John Phillip Law was in it and I wanted to watch him, I guess being a fan of this, nice to stand there and just breahte, actor has its drawbacks, this movie, in a long string of bad flicks for our handsome hunky blue eyed ingenue, is one of them ..

Stay away from this movie unless you are a die hard John Phillip Law fan or can fully understand muddled Anthony Quinn dialogue .. or late night infomercials have you ready to jump off a building

I got this in a dollar store. $1 for a DVD with two movies on it (the second being The Snows of Kilmanjaro). I like picking up these low budget movies. Most are awful but every now and then I find a gem.

Fatal Assassin would not be called a gem, but it isn't a lump of coal, either. Quinn, who has a fatal illness, kidnaps a visiting dignitary in South Africa in order to provide for his daughter. Meanwhile, an assassin has been hired to kill the dignitary. The story focuses more on the growing relationship between Quinn and the President.

I did not think this was a bad movie at all. It held my interest to the end.