Asssassin`s Bullet - In the Sight of Power - DVD

Movie: After the death of his wife, former secret agent Robert Diggs (Christian Slater) has left his job at the FBI and is now putting his skills at the disposal of the US Embassy in Sofia. In the Bulgarian capital, Diggs hopes to better process his pain. There's little time for that, however, when he receives an explosive assignment from U.S. Ambassador Ashdown (Donald Sutherland): working with the local police, Diggs is to find out who managed to track down and kill some of Sofia's most wanted terrorists - something the U.S. government never managed to do during what should have been a discontinued program. And sure enough, Diggs soon comes across a hot lead, unaware that the mysterious belly dancer Ursula (Elika Portnoy), with whom he begins a passionate affair, is also very deeply involved in the bloody story...

The days when Christian Slater belonged to Hollywood's upper league are long gone. Besides some attempts to revive the success of old times, like many other of his colleagues, at least on television, have failed so far. And so, unfortunately, Slater has to keep working in cheap action movies with directors like trash king Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark). His latest flick Assassin`s Bullet is also far from being a quality action thriller. And even if the whole thing doesn`t reach Boll`s lows in terms of quality, director Isaak Florentine (Undisputed II + III, Power Rangers) only succeeded in making an average B-movie in terms of craftsmanship despite some engaging fight sequences and inherently good actors like Donald Sutherland or Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), which is able to realize its basic idea, which is exciting in itself, in a really gripping way far too seldom.

The many cultural clichés that suggest Florentine has only limited knowledge of Eastern Europe, the portrayal of the American as a do-gooder who shares his food with street children and his money with sick old people, the seductive belly dancer who has only a very marginal command of belly dancing and, last but not least, an extremely stoic Christian Slater noticeably dampen the enjoyment of the thriller. The film does benefit from the fact that it was shot on location in Bulgaria and that the action isn't exactly squeamish and has some rather drastic but neatly executed moments to offer. But as soon as the weak dialogues have to carry the story, it becomes very clear that the few good aspects are not enough to make Assassin`s Bullet really worth watching. Only those who like simply knitted action thrillers and place little value on dramaturgy and acting will still be quite entertained here.

Picture + Sound: The film never looks like a major cinema production, which is why its technical qualities should not be measured against those of expensive Hollywood productions. For a B-action film, Assassin`s Bullet has a clean, fairly sharp image to offer, with minor flaws here and there in the detail presentation and some weak coloration to contend with in places. The sound can at least be heard in the action sequences, where various sound effects provide pleasant movement in the otherwise somewhat too directionally mixed action.

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film and other program tips from the provider, the DVD still has to offer a nearly 19-minute-long look behind the scenes (optionally with German subtitles), in which Christian Slater is very enthusiastic about the shoot in Sofia.

Conclusion: The thriller Assassin`s Bullet has some well-executed action sequences and an inherently exciting initial idea to offer, which ultimately save the film from disappearing into complete irrelevance. If you like B-action movies and don`t mind dramaturgical weaknesses, cultural clichés and weak actors, you`ll get some decent fight sequences, in which Undisputed II + III director Isaak Florentine gets to show where his real talent lies. For a purchase recommendation, however, this is too little!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp