The Assignment

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The Assignment

R

1997

1h 55m

Action

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) is an American naval officer who looks remarkably like notorious international assassin Carlos Sanchez (also Quinn). Veteran CIA agent Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) has a vendetta against Sanchez and recruits Ramirez to impersonate the fugitive. Along with Mossad operative Amos (Ben Kingsley), Shaw begins training Ramirez to become Sanchez, but the mission proves to be incredibly perilous, and the American soon wonders if it's worth the risk.

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Adrian Martin

The Age (Australia)

In its low-rent way, it aims for every frisson, reversal and shock-tactic -- and mostly succeeds.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 2, 2023

Full Review

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

If there's a small saving grace to this crude thriller, it is the work of Montreal-born director Christian Duguay, who shows flashes of real flare.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 12, 2002

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Intelligent and gripping.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Like for most action pics, character development is the first casualty.

Rated: B-

Jul 27, 2016

Full Review

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Stylish spy flick with a surprisingly good cast.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 6, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 28, 2005

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Alain E

Solid entertainment. There are some elements of reality because Carlos was an actual terrorist. If other pieces of the story are true, we will never know. If the CIA engineered a fake explosion in an American suburb to provide cover for an operative’s disappearance is not something we can Google. In my opinion, the strongest characters are played by Sutherland and Kingsley. There is some smart dialogue in the script: “I don’t have any friends. I think the only people that ever mattered to me were the ones that I killed. And you.” Reassuring. No? And again:”I am not the madam kid. I’m just one of the whores.” Both spoken by Sutherland.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/25

Full Review

Uynga U

The role play and actions are everything

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/25/24

Full Review

Munkhjargal A

The movie is about an American Marine who looks like a killer. He is brought into the case as a murderer and faces a very difficult situation. It's a very interesting and exciting movie to watch. The director and actors played very well

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/25/24

Full Review

Bahad j

This idea of the filmmaker made the movie more accessible to more people.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

A very engaging spy espionage thriller with a stellar cast.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Steve D

There is nothing wrong with the acting but the story is so ridiculous, so dumb, so contrived that it is imposable to take seriously.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

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Christian Duguay

Director

Aidan Quinn

Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez

Donald Sutherland

Jack Shaw

Ben Kingsley

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Synopsis

Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) is an American naval officer who looks remarkably like notorious international assassin Carlos Sanchez (also Quinn). Veteran CIA agent Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) has a vendetta against Sanchez and recruits Ramirez to impersonate the fugitive. Along with Mossad operative Amos (Ben Kingsley), Shaw begins training Ramirez to become Sanchez, but the mission proves to be incredibly perilous, and the American soon wonders if it's worth the risk.

Director: Christian Duguay
Producer: Tom Berry, Franco Battista
Screenwriter: Dan Gordon, Sabi H. Shabtai
Production Co: Columbia, TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $540.1K
Runtime: 1h 55m

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