The Assignment

R

Released Apr 7, 2017

1 hr. 36 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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List

33%

64 Reviews

Tomatometer

21%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

After being double-crossed, a hit man becomes a hit woman with help from a rogue surgeon. She sets out for revenge along with a nurse named Johnnie.

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Premiered Jul 25

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Critics Consensus

The Assignment's premise is bizarrely intriguing; unfortunately, it's also just one of many ingredients fumbled in a disappointing misfire from director Walter Hill.

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Ray R

For all Michelle Rodriguez fans this is a must watch. Such a babe 😍

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

IsMackinac N

Very bad movie, spare yourself.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/03/23

Full Review

Cork B

Eesh.... is Rodriguez believable as a man? HECK no. I loved the chest hair. Hilarious. Even as a revenge flick, this isn't very good, and there are some really odd lapses in logic, most namely, why are you letting a trained killer wander around after you cut off his dong? A better flick in this genera would be something like 'Haywire' or even 'Salt'.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

Full Review

Jacob B

Even setting aside the transphobic implications of the premise, The Assignment is still a really boring revenge thriller which comes close to reaching "so-bad-it's-good" levels of entertainment were it not for how "going-through-the-motions" the storytelling is once our protagonist recovers from the shock. And by that, I mean the hilariously unconvincing way that the filmmakers present Michelle Rodriguez as a cis man with a fake beard and prosthetics. It looks like something out of Monty Python taken out of context. But then Fast & Furious fans get their wish of seeing Michelle Ridriguez's boobs but it's very much not meant to be sexy and The Assignment is just boring. I hope that paycheck was worth it, Sigourney Weaver. On the bright side, Michelle Rodriguez delivers a slightly better performance than usual and it does have one good idea regarding the sex change but that's about it as far as unironic merits go. Also, what was up with those weird shots where the film stops a scene and has it turned into a comic book panel? It didn't seem to mean anything. Is it because this is from the director of The Warriors? It's because of that, isn't it? After all, The Warriors was influenced by comic books according to behind-the-scenes featurettes. In conclusion, The Assignment's premise is...certainly an unconventional take on a revenge thriller but it looks and feels very much like VOD schlock and took itself so seriously it stopped being fun when Rodriguez didn't have to deal with a fake penis on her person. These were the best moments due to their sheer unintentional hilarity and it's a shame that they couldn't've done something more inventive than "guns go bang-bang". Letty doesn't even get to have an actual fight! All the "action sequences" amount to looking angry, an interrogation and then coldly shooting them dead; lather, rinse, repeat. The way the villain was defeated did provide a nice change of pace, though. Good thing nobody saw this film, meaning that, even without the F&F franchise, Rodriguez managed to live this down.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/28/23

Full Review

R 9

Big thumbs down. I truly wanted to enjoy 'The Assignment' due to Michelle Rodriguez's involvement, but man it is unfortunately a pretty cruddy flick. Rodriguez herself is the film's only noteworthy positive, but only just to be honest - she isn't given much to work with. The premise has potential, though its execution here leaves a lot to be desired. Everything onscreen involving the characters of Sigourney Weaver and Tony Shalhoub bored me tremendously, every time it's just the filmmakers trying to come out looking smart - the dialogue, which is poor overall, is particularly bad for those two. The editing is also awful, the phoney comic book bits are weak and the transitions a very amateur-ish. This 2016 release also has an annoying habit of telling us every single location that a scene takes place, why I do not know - and if you are going to, choose a different font. I know that's an odd thing to mention, but they chose a TV police procedual-esque font, which doesn't fit with the aforementioned attempt at the comic book schtick. This should've been fun. Sadly, it is anything but.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/23

Full Review

GenZero

Best movie Man gets boobs What more could u ask of a movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/03/23

Full Review

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Walter Hill

Director

Michelle Rodriguez

Frank Kitchen

Sigourney Weaver

Dr. Rachel Kay

Tony Shalhoub

Dr. Ralph Galen

Caitlin Gerard

Johnnie

Anthony LaPaglia

Honest John Hartunian

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The Assignment: Trailer 1

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Hill, working with co-writer Denis Hamill, is going through the motions as far as the main revenge storyline is concerned.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 7, 2017

Full Review

Peter Sobczynski

RogerEbert.com

Has enough skill and personality going for it to make it worth checking out, even if it doesn't quite live up (or down, depending on your perspective) to its borderline sleazy premise.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 7, 2017

Full Review

Adam Graham

Detroit News

"The Assignment" is an embarrassment all around, a murky, regrettable piece of gutter cinema. Next year's Razzie Awards race starts here.

Rated: D-

Apr 7, 2017

Full Review

Mitchell Beaupre

Paste Magazine

Stylistically, it’s one of Hill's most accomplished works of recent years, but unfortunately a lot of that gets lost in the shuffle with the execution of its narrative.

Rated: 4/10

Sep 29, 2023

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

While this is an assuredly mixed bag that’s not as funny as it seems to think it is, the instantly harsh first wave of reaction is way off.

Jan 12, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Even moving beyond its sticky politics, The Assignment is simply a lousy film.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 16, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

After being double-crossed, a hit man becomes a hit woman with help from a rogue surgeon. She sets out for revenge along with a nurse named Johnnie.

Director: Walter Hill
Screenwriter: Walter Hill, Denis Hamill
Distributor: Saban Films
Production Co: SBS Films
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Language|Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 7, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2017

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