Bearing the distinction of being the last film beloved action star Bruce Willis ever performed in before retiring from cinema due to declining mental health from aphasia, despite his already deteriorating condition at the time the movie was shot, you wouldn’t know it based on Willis’s delivery. Still able to command both his lines and scenes, Assassin is a nice parting shot from the Die Hard favorite, even if the movie itself is not one of his greatest roles. A fun watch and sci-fi-based psychological thriller that tells the story of an elite group of assassins who utilize futuristic mind control technology to get unsuspecting members of the public to carry out remote hits for them via a type of human drone micro-chip made to look like a bug, the movie prominently features both Sloss Furnaces as well as the Bessemer Freight Depot train station in some of its sequences, showing off two of our area’s vintage civic treasures in all of their rundown glory. Equal parts multiverse melodrama and computerized love story that takes viewers on a whiplash crusade to avenge the killing of a secret agent’s murdered husband— all of which is overseen by Willis under the guise of a government operative named Valmora— despite lackluster reviews upon its release on video, the film is not the total bomb some critics have made it out to be. And for local audiences here in Jefferson County, seeing a big name like Willis in scenes shot around their hometown as part of his cinematic swan song may be just enough reason to give it a chance, even if the overall arc of the film may leave them wanting.
FUN FACT: Assassin was produced and funded by Saban Films out of Los Angeles. Sadly with no relation to our very own Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtM7Jn2jvDs