Hidden Assassin

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.

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.

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!

'The Shooter' (aka 'Hidden Assassin' which I find much cooler title) is quite trivial on the plot wise - special agent goes to Prague to catch supposed assassin, but things aren't like they seem. But the movie is well shot - bleak and cold cinematography creates nice '90s Eastern-European vibe, and somehow manages to feel artistic. By the time of filming this movie Dolph Lundgren's acting range had improved a lot and he is not as wooden as in some of his earlier movies. Heavely flawed, but still enjoyable time passer.

****SPOILERS**** After the Cuban Ambassador to the UN is assassinated in New York City the CIA, with the help of Cuban government officials, trace the killer to be the daughter of an exiled anti-Castro Cuban living in the Czech Republic who's a professional assassin named Simone Rosset and using the name of Yanna Natova, Maruschka Detmers.

With a major meeting by the Cuban and US government set in Prague to re-establish diplomatic relations between those two countries it's expected that Simone will disrupt the meeting by trying to kill both the Cuban and US officials expected to sign that agreement.

Sending US Marshall Michael Dane, Dolph Lundgren, to arrest Simone and bring her back to the US to stand trial for the Cuban Ambassador's murder Michael is met by his long time friend and US government agent Alex Reed, John Aston, to help him in finding and arresting Simone.

After tracking her down during a number of car and train chases as well as a dangerous jump, from a high bridge into the Danube River, that almost killed both Michael and Simone, Michael finally captures her. Later as Michael is about to take Simone to the Prague airport to fly with her back to the US, to be tried for murder, Simone tells him that she never was in New York the day of the Ambassador's killing and never left the Czech Republic in five years; Simone also tells Michael that she'll never live to stand trial. Simone's prediction comes sadly true when she's assassinated in a Prague hotel room after Michael saved her life from a number of assassin attempts that he foiled.

One of Dolph's better efforts showing that he could act as well as haul and kick butt that he's so well known for. Realizing, too late to save Simone's life, that it's evident that there are those in higher ups in both the US and Cuban governments who don't want that signing to take place Michael goes to the signing ceremony in Prague to prevent it from being disrupted by the real assassins of the Cuban UN Ambassador.

Great action scenes that leave you black and blue just from watching them with Dolph Lundgren at his best as the reluctant hero who breaks with his superiors, to stop the very assassination that he was assigned by them to prevent, who think that the real killer is already dead.

Maruschka Detmers is the biggest surprise in the movie by being every bit as good as Dolph in the action scenes but also touches the heart-strings with her both sensitive as well as tragic performance as the doomed Simone. Tremendous final under the streets and on top of the buildings of picturesque Prague with Dolph Lundgren, bloody T-shirt and all, saving the day by putting the bad guys on ice as well as single-handedly restoring US-Cuban relations for the first time in some forty years.