Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker December 31, 2024

From director Camille Delamarre comes 2023's 'Assassin Club' which arrives on Blu-ray disc courtesy of Universal. Henry Golding ('Crazy Rich Asians', 'Last Christmas') stars as Morgan Gaines, a highly skilled assassin who has made a decision to leave that career behind in favor of a more traditional and stable life, but his final assignment won't be easy. Filled with some inventive and exciting action sequences, the film also stars Sam Neill ('Jurassic Park', 'Merlin'), Daniela Melchior ('Fast X', 'Road House'), Noomi Rapace ('The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' trilogy), and Jimmy Jean- Louis ('Tears of the Sun', Heroes'). This Blu-ray release of "Assassin Club does not come with a DVD, a Digital Code, or a slipcover.

Morgan Gaines (Golding) is an assassin with a distinct moral code. He'll only take contracts to kill people whom he believes are "bad". Despite this limitation on his potential targets, he has risen to the ranks of the elite, and his skills are in steady demand. As one would expect, his personal connections and social circle are seriously limited and consist mainly of his handler, Caldwell (Neill). But things have changed recently for Gaines. He's met and fallen in love with Sophie (Melchior) a teacher who is unaware of his unsavory and unconventional occupation and serves as the impetus for him to quit taking lives for a living and start making a life for himself instead. While Caldwell, a seasoned professional himself, is familiar with those in his employ wanting to quit for similar reasons, Gaines's exit won't be as straightforward as he would hope. There's one lucrative last assignment; seven targets around the world need to be eliminated before he can retire.

When it comes to antiheroes, it's difficult to find a character more challenging than an assassin, with filmmakers going to great lengths to provide some element in their backstory or current situation to make the audience either lose focus on or in some way be able to morally equivocate the fact that these characters routinely commit murder to support themselves. Chow Yun-Fat is presented as a contract killer with an unswerving moral code who is double-crossed during his last assignment before retiring from the profession in John Woo's The Killer. Some years later, Chow Yun- Fat would again be positioned as a moralistic killer who becomes a target himself after he refuses to assassinate a child in Antoine Fuqua's The Replacement Killers. The romantic tension between his character and Mira Sorvino's Meg also serves to further humanize him and increase his likability. Director Luc Besson would take two differing approaches in his La Femme Nikita and Léon: The Professional, with the former being the unfortunate and pitiable product of an ethically questionable program and the latter receiving some level of moral purification by taking in an orphaned child with nowhere else to turn.

Even after a very cursory recounting of only a handful of films from the genre, it's clear that Assassin Club isn't exactly treading unfamiliar ground. And though there are a few obligatory twists and turns (which more seasoned viewers will likely be able to predict unerringly), the ultimate success or failure of a film that is relatively instantly familiar comes down to the cast. In a bona fide lead role, Golding is, as those who saw him in either Crazy Rich Asians and/or Last Chstimas would expect, never less than charming. He can be disarming and endearing in his time off the clock with the schoolteacher Sophie, exuding a certain "everyman" appeal that makes it easy to see why she loves him and quickly envision how a life for the couple would work.

The rest of the cast is impeccable. Hardly a stretch assignment for the veteran actor, Sam Neill portrays Caldwell as one would anticipate based on his previous performances. Underneath his suave sophistication and apparent concern for Gaines, there's an instant and persistent uncertainty and distrust of his motivations. Ever since she first garnered global notice for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Noomi Rapace has excelled in crafting layered performances, with her characters able to transition between personable and frigid, victim and lethal force. While she's not tasked with anything so complex or challenging in her role here as Agent Vos, she nonetheless commands the viewer's attention every time the camera turns its gaze upon her, and she proves to be a more than adequate adversary for Golding's Gaines as she tracks and attempts to capture the killers. She's commanding, decisive, and believable. Melchior's Sophie is sympathetic from the point of her introduction. She's kind, caring, and trusting, and, again, given the familiarity of the story beats, it's a relative certainty that this decent person is going to be placed in harm's way as soon as her beau announces his intention to leave his violent life behind in favor of domestic bliss. To Melchior's credit, she does make the audience care for the plight of her relatively by-the-numbers character.

While the story's pacing may suffer a bit due to one twist too many in an attempt to do something original with a setup that's a bit too familiar, Golding's inherent likability may be the film's single greatest hurdle to overcome. Golding acquits himself very well with the action scenes. He's able to handle the physicality of the hand-to-hand combat sequences, matching the performances of his on-screen opponents, and likewise is able to competently handle multiple firearms convincingly. The obstacle here is the difficulty in truly seeing him as a killer. While it's no stretch to believe he has the martial arts prowess to defend himself against what Sophie believes to be a mugger during an evening stroll, it's something else entirely to see him as someone who would kill in cold blood. There's a switch that needs to be flipped, a look that needs to be expressed to make it believable. Rapace has demonstrated her ability to dim the light behind her eyes and emote an emotional numbness as she sets to the grim work she deems necessary in her role here and in other films. Likewise, the aforementioned Chow Yun-Fat was consistently able to banish his boyish grin and relaxed demeanor in favor of a more stoic expression and a presence not unlike a coiled spring. And though Golding can throw every punch and shoot every bullet, he hasn't yet mastered the ability to lock away that affability and present the audience with a look that will inspire some level of fear instead.

Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p presentation of Assassin CLub is as precise and exacting as any of the film's fans could hope for. Detail levels are high, depicting the thread structure of the young girl's school uniform shirt in the film's opening scene, cracked and peeling paint on the window casing as Morgan gets set to carry out his first assignment of the film, and every single strand of facial hair on Caldwell's grey and stubbly beard. Skin tones are universally healthy. Exteriors also consistently present impressive levels of detail with paved surfaces, cobblestone streets, and brick building facades presenting with authentic tactile realism. Interiors are dazzle as well, with velvety upholstery, wood grain, wallpaper, and decorative elements allowing for inspection and appreciation. Overall, the film looks very warm, with pleasantly saturated colors, though occasionally stylized lighting choices exert understandable though brief influence. I did not notice any significant defects or anomalies and the source appears to be in excellent shape. The only real negative to discuss here is some black crush that can occur in the film's darker scenes. It's a great transfer.

Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Assassin Club has been given a robust English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that shines in the film's frequent action sequences. Bullets wizz through the sound field with fast, fluid precision. Surrounds are used in often in support of musical elements, environmental sounds, and more impressively, in aid of sound effects like squealing tires, crashing metal, and shattering glass. Dialogue is typically front and center and is clear and understandable in all instances. Music can be delicately and precisely rendered in more quiet moments allowing viewers to enjoy lilting strings, keys, and other instruments that are occasionally given the spotlight. Bass is impressive which is perfect for a film of this nature. Gunshots, which occur frequently and often, explosions, and all other sound effects are given a massive amount of depth and realism. This extends to the soundtrack as well, where each song, but especially rap and hip hop charts, benefit greatly as the beats fill the room.

Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release of Assassin Club is devoid of supplemental material.

Assassin Club Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With its globe-trotting plot and entertaining action scenes, Delamarre's Assassing Club tries a few tricks to turn a plot many will find familiar into something unique and unexpected. While not wholly successful in that regard, the performances from Noomi Rapace, Sam Neill, and Daniela Melchior are all enjoyable and engaging in their own way. Golding does possess legitimate action movie skills, able to handle the fight choreography and weapons convincingly, even if his demeanor doesn't always seem to fit the grim nature and tone of his work. His performance is spot-on in his character's more human moments as one would expect. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase, and although it doesn't redefine or push the boundaries of the genre, the elements in the mix here make it an enjoyable enough watch. Assassin Club comes recommended.