Film

Assassins

Name: Assassins
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Released: 1995
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore, Anatoli Davydov, Muse Watson

A mid-90s action thriller where Stallone plays an aging assassin trying to exit the game, only to get tangled with a lethal rival, an unexpected romance, and a moral crisis. It's sleek, cynical, and built on the premise that nobody really leaves. Straightforward entertainment for those who like their thrillers violent and their heroes compromised.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a hitman thriller built on a rivalry and a weary professional's moral unease, with the cat-and-mouse between two old pros savoured more than the shootouts.

Skip it if you want lean, stylish action from start to finish, since the middle stretches out and its talky scenes slow a film running over two hours.

What it asks of you: Settle in for over two hours of unhurried setup, with the violence arriving in sharp bursts and long stretches of brooding conversation between them.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Heat1995

Mann's masterpiece about professional criminals and the cops chasing them. A rival-assassin dynamic, moral ambiguity, and that legendary downtown shootout. Released the same year, it shows what peak action filmmaking looks like.

But Two-hour-fifty runtime with lengthy dialogue scenes; it's not plot-first. Mann's style demands patience and attention.

The Hunt for Red October1990

Connery and Ford as opponents who respect each other. Tense cat-and-mouse with philosophical weight, excellent pacing, and the same idea of professionals bound by codes and conscience.

But Submarine thriller, so technical jargon and confined spaces. Not as kinetic as you might want.

Ronin1998

Frankenheimer's vehicle for De Niro and Reno as mercenaries with clouded motivations. Gorgeous European locations, moral fog, and some of the best car chases ever filmed. The rival-professionals angle done right.

But Deliberately vague plot; you're watching character and execution, not story clarity.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Assassins

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Grosse Pointe Blank1997

Both explore whether an assassin can escape his profession through a romantic connection. Assassins is noir; this is wry comedy. Same question, completely different answer.

Cusack as a hitman returning to his high school reunion. Romantic comedy DNA meets contract-killer world-building. Sharp, funny, and genuinely moving about what it costs to be a professional killer. Same era, opposite register.

But Comedy-first means gunfire is light and laughs come before thrills. If you want relentless action, this undercuts it.

Collateral2004

Mann again, this time with Cruise as a cold contract killer and Foxx as the cab driver forced into his orbit. Night-time LA, philosophical menace, a predator-and-prey dance that never settles into comfort.

But More talky than typical action films. The villain is the film's engine, which some find off-putting.

The Day of the Jackal1973

Edward Fox as an assassin, Caron-Dutot as the man hunting him. Methodical, tense, with the rival-professionals setup done with surgical precision. Influenced everything after it, including films like this.

But 1970s pacing; it builds slowly and doesn't have modern kinetic energy.

Swordfish2001

Travolta and Liotta locked in a cat-and-mouse game of skill and ego. Trashy, stylish, and funny about its own excess. If you want Assassins but faster and less serious, this scratches that itch.

But Plot is a mess and it knows it. Cynical about its own narrative; some see that as clever, others as lazy.

Escape Plan2013

Stallone and Schwarzenegger locked in a prison-break thriller. Nostalgic action for those who grew up on 80s and 90s musclebound cinema. The chemistry between the two is worth the admission alone.

But Budget feels modest despite the stars, so action sequences feel smaller. Plot is predictable.

In the Line of Fire1993

Eastwood as a Secret Service agent and Malkovich as an obsessed assassin. A two-man psychological thriller about professional adversaries who develop a twisted respect. Lean and intelligent.

But More thriller than action, so gunfire is sparse. Deliberately paced.

Eraser1996

Schwarzenegger as a federal marshal who hides witnesses. Less interested in assassins than Assassins, but the same late-90s action energy and the idea of a professional using his skills to protect rather than kill.

But Very silly and doesn't pretend otherwise. If you want moral weight, look elsewhere.

Branded to Kill1967

Both feature assassins undone by their own moral code. But where Assassins offers Stallone's muscular heroism, this offers alienation and madness. The inverse of Hollywood redemption.

Seijaku's Japanese new-wave masterpiece about an assassin who breaks protocol and becomes hunted. Hallucinatory, cruel, structured like a contract killer nightmare. No Hollywood reassurance. Style over story, but the style is hypnotic.

But Deliberately obscure and fragmented; it requires active interpretation. Black-and-white, slow-burn, no conventional narrative satisfaction.

Thief1981

Direct DNA ancestor: the same story of a skilled criminal who thinks he can walk away, only to learn the world won't let him. Mann wrote the template; Assassins is one of dozens that followed it.

Mann's debut with James Caan as a professional thief building an exit plan. Synthesizer score, neon-soaked Chicago, and a protagonist so controlled he barely seems human—until love cracks the armor. The blueprint for every professional-trying-to-leave film, including this one.

But Deliberately distant protagonist makes emotional investment harder. Ending is bleak and earned, not triumphant.