Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Assassin Robert Rath arrives at a funeral to kill a prominent mobster, only to witness a rival hired gun complete the job for him -- with grisly results. Horrified by the murder of innocent bystanders, Rath decides to take one last job and then return to civilian life. But finding his way out of the world of contract killing grows ever more dangerous as Rath falls for his female target and becomes a marked man himself.
Assassins is a competent but formulaic mid-90s thriller. The plot follows a well-worn 'one last job' hitman template with predictable beats and a romance that feels contrived. Stallone and Banderas have watchable screen presence, with Banderas stealing scenes as the flamboyant rival assassin, lifting the acting above average. Cinematography is solid studio work from Jan de Bont's regular collaborators — professional but unremarkable. The film offers little novelty, recycling genre conventions without a distinctive voice or fresh angle. The ending resolves tidily but without much tension or surprise, feeling anticlimactic for the buildup.