Welcome to our new regular section in which members of the HeyUGuys family discuss a variety of topics concerning all things cinema.

We’ll pick a topic inspired by what’s happening in the world of film and invite our writers to voice their opinions, an invitation we extend to you. If you want to submit your own answer, or respond to an answer from one of our writers, then please do so.

This month sees the return of Kate Beckinsale as the gun-toting vampire warrior Selene in Underworld: Awakening. It’s a series which has managed to last for almost a decade now, despite a middling critical and audience response for each film (the domestic gross for previous instalment Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was the lowest out of the trilogy), yet that battle between those two warring tribes is back once more (it’s perhaps no surprise that the addition of 3D had been factored in this time around).

With this in mind, we asked our writers if there were any franchises out there which have more than outstayed their welcome, or alternatively, were there any films yet to be greenlighted for a sequel which could benefit from a continuation in the story.

Kelly Alyse

As much as they are ridiculous, predictable and far-fetched, I still find the Final Destination series very entertaining. The audience watching the films aren’t expecting ground-breaking performances, or storyline that will baffle them for hours after they leave the cinema – they are looking for something light-hearted, silly and fun. The film’s writers do a great job coming up with the different scenarios the teens can get themselves into, and each one comes packed with a gruesomely awesome punch.

One I believe should be put to rest is the Saw franchise. The first film was brilliantly thought out and truly intense to watch, but the films have slowly declined into a world of sadistic torture that’s pretty unbearable. Coming up with scenes that rip a person’s chest open or pull eyeballs out just isn’t entertaining.

I realise you could say the same about someone being burnt to death in a sun bed, but the difference between the two franchises is the fact that Final Destination is made to be laughed at. Saw is made to terrify and cause trauma. I know which one I’d rather watch…

Ones I’d watch time and time again are the Transformers, Paranormal Activity, X-Men and Iron Man franchises, even though I do class these films as guilty pleasures.

Tracy Ladd

Please, no more Transformers! I really hope this franchise has reached the end but with rumours about a 4th twirling about, I don’t think it’s dead yet. As cheesy and over-the-top as i

t was, I adored the first one. I just rewatched it recently and it still holds up pretty well. I did a complete 180 on the second one and had nothing but loathing for it. I went to see the third one to see if it was any better. While it was better than the second, it doesn’t compare to the first. Transformers needs to be put out to pasture.

Speak ill if you must, but I really dug The A-Team. Sure, it planted its foot firmly beyond the borders of ridiculous, but I didn’t care. I loved the action and thought the cast did a great job working off each other. I liked how the movie ended and wished that they continued on with at least a second one just to see where it went. Sadly, that won’t happen.

As much as I adored Pierce Brosnan in the Bond role in Goldeneye, his others were severely lacking and just seemed to get worse. Then Daniel Craig took over and Bond got dirty. The fact that the series went gritty is what drew me back in and even though Quantum of Solace wasn’t quite what Casino Royale was I’m still glad that this franchise is still kicking.

Kenji Lloyd

If I could pick one film to get a sequel it would be Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, hands down. The original is one of my all-time favourites, starring the likes of Gerard Butler, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Jeremy Piven, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, and of course, Toby Kebbell as the brilliant rocknrolla himself. At the end of the film, Ritchie threw in a genius nod announcing he’d be returning with a sequel, but sadly, it is yet to materialise.

After RocknRolla he directed Sherlock Holmes, (which exploded for him and Warner Bros.) and followed that with last year’s awesome Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and the third film has already been announced, which is great news. But as a lover of RocknRolla, I’m really hoping that Johnny, Archy, and the Wild Bunch will be back in The Real RocknRolla after that, because I can’t wait for Ritchie and his cast and crew to return to that world. Ritchie’s said he’s written a script, and that Joel Silver will pay for him to do it, so it’s just a matter of figuring out when. Whenever that is, it’s going to be amazing.

Adam Lowes

In all honesty, I think Bond should have been retired many years ago. No matter how many do-overs and reinvigorations, it’s a series which always follows that same ridged narrative path, with little in the way of surprises or any interesting deviations. As solid an actor as Pierce Brosnan was in the part, I wasn’t a fan of any of the films from the series he appeared in, and each successive adventure seemed to promise much, but in reality, the series grew increasingly preposterous and tiring.

The makers managed to bring something interesting to the table for Casino Royale (it’s obvious ole’ Jason Bourne was somewhat of an influence), but ‘Quantum’ was a serious step backwards, and returned the franchise to that simplistic structure which Craig’s first outing deliberately tried to avoid. Even the idea of Bond extricating himself from the secret service and making it a personal vendetta was the basis for Licence to Kill nearly twenty years previous, highlighting the lack of originality after a promising return for the character.

No doubt Sam Mendes will be hoping to bring something fresh and exciting to the world of 007 once more, but even with the heavyweight cast he’s assembled (the addition of Javier Bardem alone is a very exciting prospect) he has his work cut out.

Click below for Indiana Jones, more Pooh and an intriguing idea concerning Inception…

Okay, so this started as a spec script, it then made the oft-vaunted “Hollywood Black List” of acclaimed but as yet unmade films and then, rather than being a Heat-style heist film, it is being re-worked as an Ocean’s 11-style action comedy. As if all of that weren’t enough, Steve Carell, who seems relatively unlikely as an action star, is set to star.

The script tells of a bank robber who, having served a stretch, is recruited by the FBI, Catch Me If You Can-style, to entrap a fellow crook who is planning a big heist. I suppose with films like Pineapple Express showing that unlikely characters can make funny and effective action stars, the success of this one will all come down to the execution. Joel Silver, who knows a thing or two about action films, will co-produce with Carell. No word yet on other casting news or even a director. Jonathan Herman put the script together originally.

Source: Deadline.

Here’s something you don’t read about every day: An almost silent action film with but a single line of dialogue. After deciding to exit from directing the upcoming Akira remake, Albert Hughes is now looking to make Motor City instead for Warner Bros., with Chris Evans being offered the lead, Collider report.

Chad St. John’s screenplay made it on to Hollywood’s Black List back in 2009, the list of the year’s best unmade films, and now it looks like production could begin as early as January next year.

It’s not that often that we get to see a big blockbuster trying to do things differently, and this project definitely has me interested already. Motor City would see Evans playing a small town crook framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and upon his release from jail, he goes after the ones who set him up looking for revenge.

In itself, the plot is fairly standard, but if the reports are true about the film having just one line of dialogue, and I really hope they are, then you can be sure that it’s going to be different from a lot of the generic action films currently being made. If that is the case, then you just know that the film will have an immense score, simply because it would need one, and that is definitely something to look forward to.

No stranger to the action genre, Evans of course is currently in cinemas at the moment in Captain America: The First Avenger, which has been performing well at the box office and got solid reviews. He’s now at work donning the superhero costume again (albeit in a new variation of the same suit), filming the Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers, and we can all look forward to that on 4th May next year.

Once filming on The Avengers is done, his schedule is looking fairly light, with enough time to fit in filming Motor City. So whilst there’s no confirmation that he’ll be accepting the lead for the project yet, I’m hoping he’ll take it. If not, both Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Renner have been mentioned as considerations if Evans turns down the part, but here’s to hoping he won’t.

And as if the prospect of an Albert Hughes and Chris Evans partnership on a pretty intriguing project wasn’t enough, to top it all off, Joel Silver is also set to produce the film. Silver has literally dozens of awesome films in his credits, including, but not limited to, all the of The Matrix films, V for Vendetta, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and RocknRolla, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Predator, the list really does go on. Is there anyone else that thinks this project sounds just so awesome, like a match made in heaven? Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it will be blessed with good luck along the road to the big screen. More news on this when we get it.

To celebrate the release of Liam Neeson’s action-thriller Unknown, out on DVD and Blu-ray on 18^th July, we have five Blu-ray copies of the film to give away!

A man claiming to be Dr Martin Harris awakes in Berlin hospital with severe head injuries and very little knowledge as to how he got there. The doctors inform him that he has been in a coma for four days after surviving a near fatal car crash. Attempting to piece together the incidents leading up to the accident, he discovers that his wife no longer recognises him and another man has assumed his identity. Now the only thing standing in the way of him and the truth is a deadly team of trained assassins who will stop at nothing to have him killed. It’s time for Dr Harris to face his identity, his sanity and take back his life… by force.

Starring Liam Neeson (Taken, The A-Team), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds, Troy) and January Jones (Mad Men, X-Men: First Class), Unknown is a gripping mystery pumped with visceral action and an explosive revelation around every twist.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is answer the following question:

In which city does Liam Neeson’s character awake from his coma in Unknown?

1. Prague
2. Sarajevo
3. Berlin

For more information on Unknown Blu-ray and DVD go to http://www.facebook.com/UnknownUK

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Terms and Conditions:

• Competition will end on Monday 18th July
• Five winners will receive 1 x Blu-ray each
• There is no cash or other alternative to the prize stated and the prize is not transferable and no part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.
• Winners will be picked at random and contacted by the site.
• The Editor’s decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into.
• Competition open to UK entrants only

Variety reports that Sean Penn (Milk) and Christian Bale (The Fighter) are closing in on talks to star in the action-thriller, The Last Photograph, set in war-torn Afghanistan.

The film will be co-financed by StudioCanal and Joel Silver’s Dark Castle, who worked together on Unknown this year.

Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is to direct the film, which if I’m not mistaken will be his English language debut. The script is being written by Kurt Johnstad (300), based on an idea from Zack Snyder, who will be producing the film, alongside his wife and producing partner Deborah, and Gianni Numari (300, Shutter Island).

According to Variety,

“Penn would play an ex-special ops soldier who arrives in Afghanistan to seek vengeance for the murder of his brother’s family. He enlists a war photographer (Bale), the sole survivor of the attack that killed his brother, who captured the event in a photo.”

It’s interesting to note, however, that last month Deadline reported a slightly different version of the plot, one in which Penn would be,

“a retired ex-special ops soldier who comes to the scene determined to free a family member who has been kidnapped. The journalist agrees to help identify the kidnappers and travel the rough terrain to find them, in exchange for the story.”

It is possible that the story has been changed slightly in the past month, from being a rescue mission to a vengeance mission, and I’m not sure at the moment exactly which path the film will take. (If it is a vengeance mission, as Variety is now reporting, it is also possible that the article had a small typo, and the vengeance would be for Penn’s brother’s death, rather than his brother’s family’s deaths, but I can’t say for sure.)

Regardless of whether the story has changed from its original conception, I think the film has certainly got the potential to be something special. With such a strong cast circling it, and a proven writing, directing, and producing team, it looks set to be another success for all involved. Production is set to begin next year, once Bale has finished The Dark Knight Rises, so we’ve got a while to wait until we see it. But The Dark Knight Rises is going to be utterly incredible, so I have no problem whatsoever waiting just a little bit longer for The Last Photograph.

Given its lucrative past, it stands to reason that Warner Bros would be keen to see what more they could extract from the Lethal Weapon cash cow. Shane Black (who wrote the script for the original and has more recently excelled with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) had drafted a treatment for LW5, using the original cast, however conflicting schedules had been problematic to overcome and Mel Gibson’s public profile has been deteriorating with each successive revelation regarding his private life.

Warner’s “new idea” (if something as predictable and derivative as a reboot can ever be so-called) is to take a fresh stab at the franchise and accordingly Will Beall has been brought in by them and Joel Silver to write a fresh script, relaunching the series with a new cast. Beall is a former Los Angeles police officer who wrote the novel L.A. Rex. His reputation as a screenwriter is on the rise on account of his script Gangster Squad, a period crime drama that you can read about here.

Apparently, Beall has pitched an idea that would retain the original’s “hard-R” tone, but it seems to me that this misses the point. Although Lethal Weapon itself is over 20 years old, the franchise itself continued until relatively recently and the original simply does not call for a remake, reboot or anything similar. It stands as one of the finest action films of the 80′s (or any other decade for that matter) and the idea to remake it seems to smack of nothing more or less than a dearth of new ideas. It seems that remakes are in and of themselves problematic enough, without WB picking a film so singularly lacking any clear need of being remade. Just because Speed, Die Hard, Face/Off or ConAir are more than five minutes old, does not mark them out as remake fodder.

To paraphrase Dr Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, “your producers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I for one would prefer to see something new, rather than something old being warmed over. Having said that, I am equally happy to be proved wrong and if WB come up with a magnificent script, a fitting director and a worthy film that stands shoulder to shoulder with the original, great. But I’m not holding my breath.

What do you think? Fed up with unnecessary remakes? Love Lethal Weapon? Don’t? Let us know below.

Source: Deadline.

Time for more images from some of the films in our future and here we get our first chance to see Ashley Greene in ghost story The Apparition.

We reported recently that Harry Potter alum Tom Felton had joined the cast which has Captain America actor Sebastian Stan as well as the aforementioned Ashley Greene, and these pictures are all we have to go on so far.

Joel Silver is behind writer/director Todd Lincoln’s supernatural thriller which has Greene and Stan looking to parapsychology specialist, the man Felton, when they conjure up some spooky ‘apparition’ which isn’t too happy about being summoned.

Pics are here,

Having saved Vincenzo Natali’s creative feature Splice from a DTV demise, it looks like Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Entertainment has savaged another film – this time keeping it from disappearing altogether.

The Hollywood Reporter brings news that the “found footage” project Dark Moon, which was put into turnaround by Warner Bros. when they learned of a film with a similar-sounding premise (the Timur Bekmambetov-produced Apollo 18) was being made by the Weinstein Co.

Having been brought to the attention of producer Joel Silver, Dark Moon is now happily back on track and will be distributed by Warner (oh the irony!).

The sci-fi thriller (which began life as a spec script by Olatunde Osunsanmi),  is set to begin filming this winter.

This makes me angry, and I’m usually so easy going.

Pajiba cooly announced to the world that Warner Bros and ‘Mr. Producer’ Joel Silver are developing a big screen version of Miguel Cervantes literary quagmire of a novel, Don Quixote, and they are doing so with words such as ‘swashbuckling’, ‘tentpole’ and ‘blockbuster’ firmly in mind.

They also claim that the intention is to make the world as seen through the eyes of Don Quixote the actual world of the film. In other words, they’ll rip the beating heart out of the book and serve it up on a CG platter with windmills morphing into giants, Angelina Jolie as Dulcinea and Chris Rock as the voice of Rocinante.

I was nicely surprised with what Silver and Warners did with Sherlock Holmes, though it faded from memory the second I walked out the screening,  it was diverting, and yet I can’t see how you’ll get anything other than the basest, superficial rendering of the mistaken chivalry and epic misguidance of Cervantes delusional then melancholic knight with this premise.

You may remember the struggle Terry Gilliam had in making his own take on the story, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, documented in Lost in La Mancha, the wonderful and depressing film of the erosion of Gilliam’s film as natural disasters and injured actors conspired to shut down the 2000 production. Now that production has begun again on Gilliam’s vision of Quixote, with an all new cast (including Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor) what effect will Warner’s apparently populist production have?

Put it in context it’s as if George Lucas put out Indiana Jones and the Totalitarian Dystopia instead of Temple of Doom in ’84.

Gilliam’s take on Quixote will undoubtedly have far more to entertain than any generic take on the epic novel, but put up against the wall with a Pirates of the Caribbeanesque bombastic romp and you can guess which one will be run through with a lance first.

Whatever next? War and Peace as a romantic comedy?

Like I said. Angry.

I’ve just watched one of the most action packed, martial art driven, blood splattering movie I’ve ever seen in the form of Ninja Assassin. The movie is directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) and stars Naomie Harris, a Korean pop idol called Rain, Ben Miles, and a former James Bond (Die Another Day) badie, Rick Yune. One of the main selling points of Ninja Assassin is that it was produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Bros. (The Matrix Trilogy) and was written by the same chap who wrote the screenplay for Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, J. Michael Straczynski – although this would fall into a slightly different genre!

Synopsis from Comingsoon: Ninja Assassin follows Raizo (Rain), one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them… and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.

OK, so this movie is action packed for sure. Barely 2 minutes goes by without one of the most spectacular martial arts scene you’ve seen since the last one in this movie. The special effects guys must have been working over time to supply enough fake blood to fill the screen! That said, I think most of the blood effects shots will have been done in post but the melding together of the live action martial arts, the amazing fight choreography and stunning parkour is just simply awesome to watch.

The dialogue in this film is pretty poor at times and the story is one we’ve seen over and over again but I can’t think of a movie which combines the marriage martial arts, lighting, visual effects, special effects, direction and overall choreographys well as Ninja Assasin does.You sort of forget that the acting is a bit shoddy as you’re too busy waiting for the next action sequence to come along which is never far away!

One of my favourite scenes of a fight taking place which you only really get to see in the circle of light created by a torch. The direction by James McTeigue must have been a nightmare trying to get everything that happens in shot throughout the 99 minute runtime but he does a fantastic job at pulling you into the movie.

As I said above, don’t buy Ninja Assassin if you want an original story or decent dialogue, but if you want to see some of the best fight choreography mixed together with unbelievable martial arts, parkour and a LOT of blood, then this one is for you!

Check out this exclusive clip from the movie which will give you a bit more of an idea of what I’m talking about.

Ninja Assassin is available to buy now on DVD and Blu Ray.

NINJA ASSASSIN, the visually stunning, ninja masterpiece, slashes its way onto Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download on 17th May

The Wachowski Brothers, the creative minds behind The Matrix Trilogy, team up with director James McTeigue (Star Wars Episode II, V for Vendetta) and Joel Silver (Sherlock Holmes, Orphan, Rock n Rolla) to produce the ultimate action film.

The filmmakers behind The Matrix and V for Vendetta bring new blood to martial arts movies in this smashing adventure. Korean pop star Rain plays heroic, deadly Raizo. Trained from childhood in the way of the Ozunu Clan ninja, he is stalked by fellow warriors and their dojo patriarch (martial arts legend Sho Kosugi) and is on the run with a Europol agent (Naomie Harris) who has proof the clan sells assassination services to governments.

You can WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

To celebrate the release of NINJA ASSASSIN, we’re giving you the chance to win a copy of the film on Blu-ray, as well as a poster signed by the films action marvels, Rain, Rick Yune and director James McTeague. To be in with a chance of winning this great prize simply answer the following question using the form below…

Which of the following films did James McTeague previously direct?

A: V for Vendetta

B: Desparado

C: Romeo Must Die

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only.
• Only one entry per household will be counted.
• The competition will close Monday 17th May (release date) at 23.59 GMT.
• The winners will be picked at random from entries received.

The usual T&Cs can be found here.

Competition now Closed

© 2010 Warner Bros Ent. Inc.

Attention Potter fans…. News just in… Variety are reporting that young British actor, Tom Felton is set to star in a new movie called Apparition which is apparently a movie ‘inspired by true events’.

Plot:  Supposedly inspired by true events, centers on a young couple haunted by a supernatural presence unleashed during a college experiment. Felton portrays an expert in the supernatural.

You’ll know Felton best for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movie franchise. He’ll be appearing in the last two Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 where I think he’ll be getting rather a big role although I haven’t ready the books so I can only guess form how the last one ended!

Also set to star are Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan with Joel Silver producing. Head over to Variety for a bit more info.

With Ninja Assassin going on general release in the USA, a new red band trailer has been released online and it is very different from the previous trailer. Although this new trailer has been released to help promote the film for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I suspect the complete change in tone from the last trailer is partially to help combat the overwhelming negative criticism the film has generally received so far.

Ninja Assassin has been criticized by many for its overly complex and unnecessary plot, although it has received much praise for its stylish action sequences. Whereas the previous trailer was more dramatic and attempted to display some of the film’s back-story, this new trailer is basically an entire minute of nonstop ninja action.

The film stars Korean pop idol Rain, is produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Bros. (The Matrix Trilogy), is written by prolific science fiction and comic book writer J. Michael Straczynski (who also wrote Clint Eastwood’s Changeling), and is directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta).

Ninja Assassin is now on general release in the USA and will be released on January 22nd 2010 in the UK.

Cirque de Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is unearthed this week. John C Reilly stars as a vampire who performs at the Cirque Du Freak. He meets a young boy, and agrees to take him on as an apprentice.

The screenplay is written by Brian Helgeland. I recognised the name, so i looked up his filmography. It turns out he has written the screenplay’s of many films, including LA Confidential, Conspiracy Theory and Payback, having also directed the latter. And along with the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix), he has a screenplay credit for a personal favourite of mine. So join me as i look back at Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, as they play Assassins.

I knew nothing of Assassins myself when it was released in 1995. It was only a couple of years later that i spotted it on video, intrigued by this movie i’d never heard of. It’s not really a big surprise that it achieved little fanfare. Stallone was coming off of flops like The Specialist, and his box office power was failing. Banderas had only just completed his breakthrough role in Desperado, and with Evita a year away his brief period of success had not yet begun.

Stallone plays Robert Rath, a hit man considered the best in the business. As so often happens, he has grown disillusioned with his career. Whilst on a hit, it becomes apparent the gig has been double booked. A young hit man is also on the scene, and they exchange bullets until the police show up. The young killer, who we later find out is Miguel Bane (Banderas) is cuffed and taken away. He escapes, and Rath tracks him down.

Rath discovers Bain is a fan, and now plans to usurp him as the worlds premier cleaner. What follows is a twisting and turning rivalry. Rath wants out, but his handler makes him an offer he can’t refuse – a job worth $2 million. Rath decides to take it, once last job that he can retire from. The mark is Electra (Julianne Moore), an information thief, and a disc she is selling to some Dutch buyers.

Once again Bain is also in on the job. When it comes to it, Rath can’t kill the cat-loving target, and instead they hook up, and together offer the disc to the handler, at a vastly inflated price. Now, Rath is the mark, as Bain is given the chance to prove he is the new number one.

Now, i have to confess i’m cheating a bit here. The story and screenplay were the work of the Wachowskis, and Helgeland was commissioned by super-producer Joel Silver for a page one re-write. Silver had bought the screenplay from Andy and Larry Wachowski at the same time as The Matrix, for the same price of $1 million. I was actually going to look back at Mel Gibson’s Payback, but i felt that Assassins has been so overlooked, i wanted to bring it to the attention of movie-goers who may not know about it.

Assassins has bad reviews all over the net, and i’ve not found many with a good word to say about it. I have a different take on it. The themes of the movie, history repeating itself, and reaping what you sow, aren’t done with a great deal of subtlety, but are still illustrated well here. Rath killed his friend and mentor to become number one, and now faces the same fate. His calm demeanour and moral code, selecting only jobs where the mark is deserving of retirement, is in direct contrast to the arrogant young Bain, who has no problem killing anyone who gets in his way, be they cop, woman, child.

Stallone’s stoic delivery and vacant expression actually serve the part well. Banderas’ intensity, flash and physical acting style convey the arrogance, danger and almost derangement of Bain perfectly. Neither are great actors, but these performances, at either end of the spectrum, make it work. I actually really like Banderas here, and feel he lights up the movie, but i can see why others wouldn’t appreciate the performance. Julianne Moore, blessed with a female role that combines strength and vulnerability in perfect balance, shows even here why she is quietly one of the best actresses in Hollywood.

What i love most about this film are the clever little touches. Both assassins are extremely intelligent and resourceful. Bain’s unique way off getting to a mark, a reclusive millionaire, is brilliant. Confined to a wheelchair as the result of a previous assassination attempt many years ago, he never goes out in public. Bain simply kills his brother, allowing a clear shot at the mark when he attends the funeral. Rath’s method of tracking Bain down, Bain dropping a beeper into a buyers pocket so he can find the meet later, little things that have been well thought out really make the movie stand out.

The action scenes are another reason the movie is so great. Rath and Bain’s first conversation in the back of a taxi turns into a unique car chase as they work together and against each other at the same time. A shoot-out in Moore’s apartment building, the funeral shoot-out, all with silenced weapons popping away. The action scenes are all slightly different from the norm, giving the movie a very fresh feel.

The influence that Hong Kong cinema has had on the Wachowski brothers is evident all the way through this movie, never more so than in the last thirty-odd minutes. The night before the dramatic conclusion, Rath reflects on the things he has done, and the direction his life has turned, whilst a clearly nervous Bain tries to relax and unwind before the dramatic events of the next day unfold, all against the backdrop of the Mexican Day of the Dead parade and celebrations. A tense game of cat and mouse the next day concludes with a dramatic shootout in a dilapidated hotel, replete with flying doves and the obligatory Mexican standoff. It wouldn’t feel at all out of place in a John Woo film, and is the closest a Hollywood movie has come to a Hong Kong action movie. I can’t help but feel that if Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung had been playing the lead roles, Assassin’s would have been held up as a work of genius.

I found myself wishing that the Wachowskis had been allowed to direct the film themselves, using their original screenplay. I think the stigma of Stallone, and to a lesser extent Banderas is to blame for the poor reputation of Assassins. It’s a real shame, particularly for the Wachowski brothers – in their hands it could have been as big a hit as The Matrix.

Assassins is available on DVD now.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is released this Friday 23rd October.

Bazmann