Assassins (1995)

  I can't remember where I read it but somewhere in my Internet browsing, I came across a list of the ten worst movies ever.  Obviously, any such thing would be subjective but most movies fall on a spectrum of Bad -- Good based on popularity.  I only had enough space in my queue at the time for two movies so I chose the worst ones.  I think I meant to go back when I had more space for the others but I never did.  The number one worst movie was Showgirls, which I think we can all agree with, and number two was Assassins.  I vaguely remember when this came out.  I was in junior high and had not embraced the truly violent in life so I didn't see it then.

Robert Rath (Sylvester Stallone) is the best killer for hire in the world but is haunted by a decision he made to get that title.  He wants to retire but decides to take One Last Job.  The mark is an information broker named Electra (Julianne Moore) who is trying to sell a disc of files to some Dutch buyers.  Rath is prepared to do the job but gets interrupted by a hotshot up-and-comer named Bain (Antonio Banderas) and ends up rescuing Electra to keep her away from Bain.  The more time he spends with her, the less he wants to kill her for money.  They decide to come up with a plan to sell the disc and walk away with their lives.

It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, especially considering it was mentioned in the same breath as Showgirls.  It was directed by Richard Donner, who can handle an action film just fine, and written by the Wachowskis.  Sure, Banderas is totally over-the-top and Stallone is milking the whole "wounded antihero" schtick but it doesn't take you out of the picture.  The only real sour note is Moore, who is fucking annoying and never really gets better.