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Movie Lists: Movies About Assassins

Thu Sep 4, 2008 4:41 PM EDT
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By Chris from MN

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Point of No Return (1993)

The Professional (1994)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Assassins (1995)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Kill Bill (2003/2004)

You Kill Me (2007)

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Perhaps it's weird, but I've always loved movies about assassins. My fascination can't be completely unique, because there's an assassin film genre! Here's a handy list of some of those films.

I know I've forgotten some, so feel free to suggest others, and I'll add them to the list. There's a couple recent ones whose names I can't quite dredge from memory, but I'll more as I think of them.

This list is not about the quality, so the one rule is that the main character(s) must be the assassin(s).

The Mechanic (1972)

Charles Bronson as an assassin working for an organization. Jan-Michael Vincent as his supposed student. Film ends with a bit of a twist. wiki imdb

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Edward Fox as the freelance assassin that tries to kill France's Charles de Gaulle. A classic film and one of the best of class! Later remade as The Jackal with Bruce Willis as the assassin. Based on The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. wiki imdb

The Eiger Sanction (1975)

Clint Eastwood as a mountain-climbing assassin. George Kennedy as his handler. Based on The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian. wiki imdb

La Femme Nikita [aka Nikita] (1990)

Anne Parillaud as a former cop-killing junkie turned French Intelligence assassin. Jean Reno has a short-lived role as ‘The Cleaner’. Remade in the USA as Point Of No Return with Bridget Fonda as the assassin. Directed by Luc Besson (see also The Professional). wiki imdb

Point of No Return (1993)

Bridget Fonda as the junkie turned assassin by Gabriel Byrne. This is the American version of Besson's La Femme Nikita. Also has Miguel Ferrer, Dermot Mulroney, Anne Bancroft & Harvey Keitel. Directed by John Badham. wiki imdb

The Professional [aka Léon] (1994)

Jean Reno as an expert assassin. Gary Oldman as the over-the-top killer, and Natalie Portman as the orphan who forces Reno to teach her. Directed by Luc Besson (see also La Femme Nikita). wiki imdb

Pulp Fiction (1994)

John Travolta & Samuel L. Jackson as assassins working for gangster Ving Rhames. A modern classic that includes Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette & Christopher Walken. Directed by Quentin Tarantino (see also Kill Bill). wiki imdb

The Specialist (1994)

Sylvester Stallone as an explosives-using assassin. Sharon Stone as his vengeful client; James Woods as his nemesis. wiki imdb

Assassins (1995)

Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas as rival assassins. Julianne Moore as Stallone's love interest. Script by Andy & Larry Wachowski; directed by Richard Donner. wiki imdb

Beyond Hypothermia [aka Sip si 32 doe] (1996)

Chien-lien Wu as a professional female assassin with no name or memory of her past. Ching Wan Lau as a noodle vendor love interest. A fairly obscure film, but worth watching for its unusal treatment of the female assassin theme. wiki imdb (Note: not sure about the roles played by the actors.)

Long Kiss Goodbye (1996)

Geena Davis as an amnesiatic assassin who has become a suburbanite with a child. Samuel L. Jackson also stars as a down and out detective hired to find Davis' missing life. Includes Craig Bierko, Brian Cox & David Morse. Written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon). Directed by Renny Harlin. wiki imdb

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

John Cusack as a professional freelance assassin attending his high school reunion. Minnie Driver stars as the love interest and Dan Aykroyd as the murderous rival. Also has Jeremy Piven, Alan Arkin & Joan Cusack. wiki imdb

The Jackal (1997)

Bruce Willis as the Jackal in a remake of 1973 Day of the Jackal. Sidney Poitier as the FBI agent chasing him. Richard Gere as the Irish terrorist brought out of jail to track him. wiki imdb

The Replacement Killers (1998)

Chow Yun Fat as an unwilling assassin for the Chinese Triad. Mira Sorvino costars as a non-romantic love interest, and Michael Rooker is the LA cop who is the target.wiki imdb

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Forest Whitaker as a zen-loving mob assassin who follows the way of the Samurai. wiki imdb

Kill Bill (2003/2004)

Uma Thurman as a former member of a group of assassins led by David Carradine. Also stars Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox & Michael Madsen. Directed by Quentin Tarantino (see also Pulp Fiction). wiki imdb

Collateral (2004)

Tom Cruise as a hired killer (rare bad-guy role) and Jamie Foxx as his unwilling chauffeur. Most of the film consists of Cruise and Foxx; both were nominated for Oscars. Watch for the Jason Statham cameo early in the film. He passes the briefcase to Cruise at the airport. wiki imdb

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as husband and wife who don't know they are both assassins working for different agencies. Both are given a mission to kill the other. Hilarity ensues; true love endures. wiki imdb

Shadowboxer (2005)

Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding, Jr. as contract assassins and lovers. Also features Stephen Dorff and Vanessa Ferlito. wiki imdb

Elektra (2005)

Jennifer Garner as the ninja-trained sai-wielding professional assassin from Marvel comics. The film was received very poorly by audience, critics and fans of the comic. Rotten Tomatoes gave it only 9%. wiki imdb

Smokin' Aces (2006)

An entire cast of assassins converges on a single one-million dollar hit. (Think It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World with assassins, directed by Tarantino.) wiki imdb

You Kill Me (2007)

Ben Kingsley as an alcoholic polish mob assassin. Téa Leone as his love interest. Dennis Farina and Philip Baker Hall doing what they do so well. wiki imdb

© 2008 Chris from MN

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Chris from MN

There's been talk about "movies with assassins in them" so a list seemed like a nice idea.

What am I missing? Rule is, the main character(s) must be the assassin(s).

  • 2 votes
Reply#1 - Thu Sep 4, 2008 4:49 PM EDT
robertlyn-schultz

Chris,

Well lets see I think that you missed a few, like:

Collateral

Last Kiss Goodnight

Rogue Male

Those are three that pop to my head, I will think on this some and return soon to add some more.

Aloha

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Thu Sep 4, 2008 8:35 PM EDT
robertlyn-schultz

Crap, one more:

Smoking Aces

This one has an all assassin cast!

L8r

  • 2 votes
#2.1 - Thu Sep 4, 2008 8:38 PM EDT
robertlyn-schultz

I stand self-corrected, you Sir did not miss the Long Kiss Goodnight, I brain-farted.

I should not leave comments stoned! :)

Have a good'un

  • 2 votes
#2.2 - Fri Sep 5, 2008 2:03 AM EDT
Chris from MN

Smoking Aces

Bingo, that's one of the ones I was trying to think of, but I'd missed Collateral completely!

Muchas Danke!!

  • 2 votes
#2.3 - Fri Sep 5, 2008 2:18 PM EDT
Reply
gecko85

La Femme Nikita is a great movie. Infinitely better than the re-make Point of No Return. (Why no thumbnail for Nikita?)

I also loved Ghost Dog, a very underrated movie.

In fact, I liked most of these films...

  • 2 votes
Reply#3 - Fri Sep 5, 2008 7:01 PM EDT
Chris from MN

Most folks seem to agree Nikita is the better version, but I've also enjoyed the Badham version when I'm in the mood for American food. (Actually not a bad metaphor for John Badham; the hamburger-and-fries director. And I like a good burger sometimes: WarGames, Bird On a Wire, Short Circuit, Nick of Time. Good, fun American food! :-)

Ghost Dog is a gem! There's another one I can't seem to find. I thought it starred Daryl Hannah or Kim Basinger as an assassin whose profession is taking its toll. But I must be wrong on the star, because I can't find it in either of their filmographies. Searches for "movies with female assassins" haven't turned up much, either. Mostly swamped with Kill Bill references. (I also have a memory of a mother-son assassin team movie that I can't quite recall.)

But writing "female assassins" I just thought of two others I keep forgetting to add: Beyond Hypothermia and Elektra.

(There isn't room for thumbnails of all the films listed, so I picked the ones with the most visual appeal.)

  • 2 votes
#3.1 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 2:28 PM EDT
gecko85

(There isn't room for thumbnails of all the films listed, so I picked the ones with the most visual appeal.)

Gotcha. For me, the La Femme Nikita cover is all about visual appeal. ;-)

http://www.engel-cox.org/images/Covers/svLaFemmeNikita.jpg

  • 2 votes
#3.2 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 7:53 PM EDT
gecko85

Could this be the mother/son movie you're thinking of?

Shadowboxer

When Rose, a female assassin, is diagnosed with terminal cancer; she decides to carry out one final killing, assisted by lover and also stepson, Mickey.

Not quite mother/son, but mother/stepson...Helen Mirren stars as the assassin, Rose.

  • 2 votes
#3.3 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 7:58 PM EDT
Chris from MN

http://www.engel-cox.org/images/Covers/svLaFemmeNikita.jpg

Ah, much nicer than the other one I saw (in the Wiki entry). If the list grows to the point I can add a few more images, it'll be a serious contender.

Shadowboxer

Hmmm.. The terminal cancer final killing thing sounded vagely familiar, but Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding doesn't sound familiar at all (the more detailed entry in Wiki makes me think this isn't the one–I'm sure I'd remember the kid business.

Still, it's one for the list (and the first one I haven't seen (I think)).

  • 2 votes
#3.4 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 10:51 PM EDT
Reply
jlp coos

Chris from MN:

Great list! Great additions.

La Femme Nikita and The Professional are 2 of my faves. I got a tickle out of Grosse Point Blank.

Does Ronin count?

  • 1 vote
Reply#4 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 5:36 AM EDT
Chris from MN

Thanks!

To me, the Japanese Ronin seem more as warriers than assassins. Likewise, the film, Ronin (great film, BTW, David Mamet had a hand in the script) seems more a caper/secret agent story than an assassin one. (But I'm open to counter-views.)

Yeah, Grosse Pointe Blank is a lot of fun! I like Cusack and Driver a lot. Throw in Aykroyd and a very clever script, and it's one of the gems in the list for my money!

  • 2 votes
#4.1 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 2:50 PM EDT
jlp coos

Hi Chris:

Yeah. You're right about Ronin the film and Ronin warriors.

This has been an interesting and fun thread, Chris.

  • 1 vote
#4.2 - Sun Sep 7, 2008 5:26 PM EDT
Reply
Bonnie-3000909

Hey Chris,

I have forgotten the name of a movie about an assassin who is killed first thing in the movie. His son is recruited, but has no idea he has some sort of special power/skill as an assassin. The father was part of an elite group of assassins with certains powers that bullets would bend to hit their target. I cannot think of any of the actors. The son goes through a rigorous training with this group who seem to want to kill him rather than train him. In the end I t h i n k he finds out they really assasinated his father and he ends up killing all of them. They have a castle type holdup in which they operate. The best part of this movie, was the music at the end. I don't think it was a very popular movie.

I would really like to know if you can tell me the name of this movie. Sorry to be so vauge.

Bonnie

    Reply#5 - Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:09 PM EST
    joshman001

    if the writer of this review has actually seen ghost dog, i will literally eat my hat. words cannot describe how bad that film is, he swings his gun round like a sword. enough said but i shall go on: the "deep and meaningful" misty toned parts of th film, such as when he's thinking to himself or talks to his hotdog stand friend with neither make sense, nor apply to the film IN ANY WAY. this film should only be used to trick friends into wasting 1.5h of their lives. if you don't believe me, watch it.

    the one saving grace of the film lies in a short, 4 line dialogue, completely out of character with the rest of the film:

    Louie: Jesus, Vinny. You just iced a woman, you know that?
    Vinny: You know what you are, Louie? You're a @!$%#in' male chauvinist pig.
    Louie: What do you mean, I'm a male chauvinist pig? You just shot a broad.
    Vinny: A cop. I just shot a cop. They wanna be equal? I made her equal.

      Reply#6 - Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:28 AM EDT
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