Hidden Assassin

At the beginning, there is a prologue that explains the following: If a foreign national commits a crime on U. S. soil, the U. S. government reserves the right to capture that suspect anywhere in the world and return him or her to the United States for prosecution. Jurisdiction over this activity falls to the U. S. Department of Justice's Marshall Service. The Cuban ambassador has been assassinated in New York. A hired female killer is the prime suspect in the murder. She allegedly shoots the ambassador to the U. N. and escapes back to her home base in Praga. To prevent another terrorist attack during the US-Cuba summit to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, the CIA sends Michael Dane (Dolph Lundgren), one of its best federal agents to his homeland. It seems that Simon Rosset (Maruschka Detmers) is the executioner, she's a professional assassin who is now co-owner of a restaurant along with Marta (Assumpta Serna). Michael Dane's partner in the mission is his CIA friend Alex Reed (John Ashton). The suspected killer is a lesbian restaurant owner, Simone Rosset, but Michael starts to doubt she is the murderer, that's why she's long retired and is being set up. But as usual everything is much more complicated than it seemed at first; and therefore Dane has to work much more with his brain than with his muscles to survive. Seduction is a deadly weapon!

A thriller with nonstop action and noisy chases from beginning to end. It deals with the two protagonists, Dolph Lundgren and John Ashton, who become more and more involved in a complex plot of political conspiracy, betrayal, violence, and plot twists. So the two agents are assigned to prevent another attack of the terrorists at the US-Cuba-summit in Prague . Along the way the duo attempts to find the truth amid lots of double-crosses, and pursuits. Resulting to be an uneven thriller with its ups and downs, which is acceptable enough, but does not delivers the necessary tension and intrigue in its action scenes. Stars Dolph Lundgren who gives his mediocre and ordinary acting as a CIA agent gets caught up in political intrigue after he gets brought in to solve the murder of a Cuban ambassador. While Maruschka Detmers is supposedly an assassin who shot an ambassador, providing a passable acting. Other actors include John Ashton as the sympathetic CIA colleague, Gavan O'Herlihy as the CIA boss and Spanish players as Assumpta Serna and Simon Andreu as a nasty Cuban agent.

This routine motion picture was averagely directed by canadian filmmaker Ted Kotcheff, he provides many action scenes but it doesn't make sense in any case. His film career started in England with Tiara Tahiti (1962), a social comedy, Life at the Top (1965) and Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969). Kotcheff returned to Canada in 1972 to make The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). This film, thought to be one of the best Canadian films ever made, won the Golden Bear First Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Kotcheff also directed Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), starring Jane Fonda and George Segal and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), starring Jacqueline Bisset and George Segal. His next film, Wake in Fright (1971), was made in Australia. Kotcheff got great success on action cinema ( First blood, Uncommon valor, The shooter) and comedy (Switching channels, Fun with Dick and Jane ). Nevertheless , today he only realizes TV episodes (Law and order, Family of cops, Red shoes diaries). 'Hidden assassin' rating : 5/10. Acceptable and passable But only for the wonderful sightseeing of Prague, where most of the action takes place, beautifully photographed by Spanish cinematographer Fernando Argüelles. If you're a fan of Dolph Lundgren, you'll want to see this entry in his already somewhat monotonous action films.

Though this film would be classed as mediocre by most, I rate this movie fairly high. The scenery is fantastic, the soundtrack is interesting with its combination of suspense and smooth jazz, and with Dolph Lundgren side-kicked with John Ashton you get a smooth, even dose of action, adventure and comedy.

Though the movie does seem slow at times, and you tend to forget the characters names or the reason why Dolph is actually there in the first place, the movie does provide decent suspense and action throughout.

I didn't like the fact that Dolph's main wound (his arm) was self-inflicted and rather, well... pointless. However, the rooftop-gunfight scene (end) and the part where Dolph takes out a sniper with a handgun are simply a must see! (Believable? It is within Dolph's power, ha-ha!)

The ending is simply awesome. Enough said.

This movie is fantastic, you'll either rate it as a masterpiece or just a decent, action flick; but nothing lower.

It's really hard to believe that this movie was directed by the same person who directed FIRST BLOOD. I was expecting top-grade action, especially since Lundgren was the star, but the movie is a real bore. Oh, there are shootings, hand-to-hand combat, and chases, but all of this is presented to come across as just as unexciting as the rest of the movie. The script is (mostly) unsurprising, containing a major plot twist that you'll see coming from the first few minutes of the movie. (Though I admit the eventual plot turn concerning the female lead did give me a surprise.) Movie is also badly photographed, with muddy colors throughout. Lundgren tries, but is pretty overwhelmed, and the best performance turns out to be by John Ashton, playing Lundgren's buddy. Recommended only to die-hard (and very forgiving) Lundgren fans.

Although this film is not interesting for its acting or its story line, you must see it (even with the sound off) if only for the absolutely gorgeous set design, lighting design, and cinematography, which combine to make this film an eye-popping piece of eye candy. It helps that the filmmakers had the beautiful old city of Prague to film in, with its rich architectural history, romantic interiors, cobblestone streets, etc. I wanted to print out almost every scene in the film and then frame them for my walls, so gorgeous were almost all the frames of film. Try it for this! You'll love it!

Hidden Assassin (its proper name is The Shooter) is not just another mindless Dolph Lundgren actioner. It's a fairly well-plotted and exciting political thriller with some fine acting and great action sequences. But the real best thing about this movie is the setting. Filmed on location in Prague, the film looks beautiful and often stunning. Dolph plays a US Marshall (surprise, surprise) who is sent to Prague to find the assassin who killed the Cuban ambassador. Detmers is a beautiful bisexual assassin who Dolph gets caught up with, and before long the two of them are walking on dangerous ground while trying to stay alive the whole time. The suspense is always growing, as we never know who the killer is, wondering if it's Dolph's boss or even Detmers herself... I really like this movie. It's entertaining to watch and full of twists and surprises. Overall, I would probably recommend this one over some of Dolph's most well-known movies (Red Scorpion, Universal Soldier). Though without it's share of plot-holes, this remains a fun and very enjoyable romp.