Review: (Re)Assignment (TIFF 2016)

September 16th 2016, 9:05am

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

PLOT: A macho hit-man becomes the unwilling recipient of a sex-change performed by a brilliant surgeon (Sigourney Weaver) with a grudge. Now a beautiful woman (Michelle Rodriguez), the killer sets-out to get even.

REVIEW: (RE)ASSIGNMENT is nothing if not topical, so it was a surprise when – in his pre-film introduction at TIFF – director Walter Hill revealed the script for his latest film had been floating around Hollywood since the late-seventies. An attempt at a much grittier film than his poorly received, studio-financed BULLET TO THE HEAD, despite the gender-bending plot (RE)ASSIGNMENT isn’t that different from the rest of Hill’s output, with the hero/heroine being a tough assassin who would have been right at home in some of his other pulpy works.

Too bad then that (RE)ASSIGNMENT comes-off as just another quickie actioner devoid of any really innovative action, despite the hook, which was given more thought-provoking treatment in the similarly themed THE SKIN I LIVE IN. Michelle Rodriguez does her best in a dual role, playing both the pre-op assassin (given the pulpy name Frank Kitchen) and the post-op beauty he becomes.

Rodriguez actually convinces somewhat as the male character, wearing a beard and evoking a certain relish in his maleness. She actually fares worse as the now female Kitchen, seeming too comfortable in his new skin given the circumstances and natural. She’s also saddled with some really bad dialogue that’s trying to be pulpy but just seems silly. It doesn’t help that Hill constantly cuts away to comic-book panel transitions, the same thing that marred his director’s cut of THE WARRIORS.

What’s worse is that Hill, who’s directed incredible action movies like 48 HRS, STREETS OF FIRE, and EXTREME PREJUDICE wasn’t able to stage any half-way exciting action scenes despite the abundance of gun-play and the physically capable Rodriguez as his heroine. Even in the movies of his that didn’t really work (ANOTHER 48 HRS, LAST MAN STANDING) you could also count on some bad-ass action. There’s none of that here, and the tacked-on romance with a nurse named Johnny (Frankie & Johnny – get it?) isn’t convincing despite the presence of the beautiful Caitlin Gerard in the part. She seems like too nice a girl to get caught-up in this underworld saga.

Even still, (RE)ASSIGNMENT is almost worth seeing for one reason – Sigourney Weaver. Cast against type as the mad doctor, Weaver’s having a whale of a time and luckily – is on screen a lot. Hill favors her with almost as much screen-time as Rodriguez, with the movie framed as her testimony in a mental institution, as given to Tony Shaloub’s shrink, who she condescends to amusingly. Weaver’s never really gotten to play this type of part, and if you were ever curious as to what it might be like if Weaver were to play Hannibal Lecter, here’s your chance.

Despite Weaver’s performance, (RE)ASSIGNMENT is a depressingly minor effort for Hill, and not one that will go down with his classics despite some interesting ideas. If he had a bigger budget and the resources to stage some solid action beats, we might have had something. This is a low-rent curio at best.