Assassination Games (2011)

On paper there is a lot to like.Two assassins playing the same target, been done before, Stallone did it, sort of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE "reimagined." There is a trope with the apartment that JCVD lives in. Also been done before. But it is fun for all of 60 seconds.Everyone is very macho. There is a switch-reversal where JCVD, asked to trade his life for a young girl's, lets them kill the girl. Strangely refreshing, at least if you watch a lot of films. Feminists won't be pleased But there is OH SO MUCH not to like: * terrible cinematography, seems like it was done on video, also seems the director felt that the best way to do a "film noire" in color was to darken everything and turn the contrast up til your brain screams * Adkins' career peaked playing a Russian pit fighter and has not found his inner Olivier since. JVCD peaked a long time ago but he can be fun if he wants to. In this film, he does not want to be.The payoff is terrible. Other than the dead girl mentioned above the whole film is full of ugly men in high contrast.Yuk.

When corrupt Interpol agents spring a powerful drug dealer from prison and put a hefty price on his head in hopes of luring out their former #1 contract hit-man that they want dead who has a dark history with said drug dealer and another elite assassin is in the mix, you know things are about to get … complicated.Jean Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins in a film called Assassination Games and here's the rub. Its not the type of flick you're picturing in your head. Okay maybe that's a half truth. The prerequisite elements are within. Guns, death, fisticuffs, deception, etc and it gets off to a brief but predictable action start, but then slow city. Between Van Damme's detached, solitary arch of a (hit)man and Adkins broken past, there's a lot of drama and the pacing is monumentally slow. No wham, bam thank you ma'am. Its nearly two hours long.Shot down and out in Romania, much of the film's backdrop isn't visually intensive / interesting. That doesn't mean it isn't well shot however. Watched in SD, felt like HD. Acting wise, the two leads acquit themselves fine and some of the supporting cast actually stood out. The story could be more exciting and/or shorter, but as it is, Assassination Games finds itself not at the bottom of either stars resumes, but hardly at the top neither.

"Assassination Games" is the movie I'm reviewing in this movie review. This movie stars Jean- Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins. This movie came out in 2011. I believe it was some time in the last quarter of 2011. I happen to watch this movie on Netflix. I don't think this movie came out in the movie theater. When I saw the previews for it and saw that Van Damme was in the movie I was eager to see it. Judging from the previews it looked like the makings of a descent film.This movie is about two of the world's greatest assassins that don't know each other, but work together to achieve both of their personal goals.This was very good film to me. This film had a good plot. This film had a good story and the execution was on point with the film. The action was good and it was enough to fit this type of film. I felt like that was important. Lots of movies that are consider action movies have a problem with not putting enough or the right amount of action in the film. This film doesn't have that problem. The fight scenes were very good and believable. There's this one scene in the movie were the assassins are trying to kill the same guy and they bump heads. (didn't know each other at time) I thought that was pretty cool. Their mistakes on both of their behalf's were do to the fact that they were both excellent at what they did. You have to keep in mind (while watching the film) that this is an "assassination movie," not transformers. All in all, this was a descent film.A can't really say anything bad about this film. Don't expect Oscars acting performances either. As a fan of Van Damme, it was nice to see him in a movie again.My final rating for this film is going to be an 8 out of 10. Solid film, very good execution and is well deserving of it high score. If you have a couple of hours to burn and you like these kinds of movies, you have blessing to see this one. You won't be disappointed. Currently, this film is on Netflix, so watch it on there of course, but if I see this film in the movie store for fewer than ten dollars. I'm going to purchase it.

Just finished this movie on the Netflix. On paper, "Assassination Games" had all the ingredients of being a fairly decent entertainer - Van Damme, mafia, interpol, 2nd assassin - but on screen it is NOT.Someone (director? Producer ?) didn't want to make just an action movie.. they decided to add "depth" to a low budget action movie! So they shot the movie in sepia. They try to give "character" to the entire cast. VanDamme is a violin playing assassin - really ? And it takes the good-hearted prostitute 5 meetings to get him to bed (without adding any sexual tension in the process the director might be hoping for). None of this adds to film in anyway.. just makes it longer than it needs to be. The action scenes are so pathetic that you see better action in TV nowadays. A very direction-less film, trying desperately to sell movie using any device they could fit in.I heard they just had a 4million budget to work with - which explains some shortcuts. But why did they spent it on adding pointless minutes is beyond me ? I am being generous when I give it at 5 rating. I would have been really disappointed if I had paid specifically for this movie to watch it.