Assignment, The (1997) (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Christian DuguayRelease Date(s)
1997 (June 24, 2026)Studio(s)
Triumph Films/Sony Pictures Releasing (Imprint Films/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: C
- Extras Grade: D
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
James Bond was the central character in a dozen films released by 1997. (As of now there have been 25 official Bond pictures). The franchise was so successful that others tried to emulate the formula, with varying degrees of success. In The Assignment, an American navy man is selected to execute a dangerous mission for the CIA requiring Bond-style know-how and personal sacrifice.
Carlos the Jackal is a Venezuelan terrorist who’s been eluding authorities for years. Naval officer Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) bears an uncanny resemblance to the Jackal. Seeing that the two men look nearly identical, Mossadagent Amos (Ben Kingsley) hatches a plan with CIA agent Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) to have the officer impersonate the terrorist. If Ramirez can mislead Carlos’ Russian KGB handlers into believing that Carlos is a double agent, they will kill him.
To make Ramirez absolutely convincing as Carlos, they put him through rigorous training, which includes developing split-second reactions, becoming expert with weapons, and learning how to observe even the smallest details. The training takes months and Ramirez gets so exasperated with the strenuous regimen, the boring diet he’s given, and Shaw’s supercilious manner that at one point, he’s on the verge of abandoning the operation.
The Assignment has plenty of 007-style action as backdrop to the procedures Shaw and Amos employ to turn Ramirez into a killing machine. One part of his training takes place in a cemetery. Ramirez has been told to memorize the names on the tombstones. When Shaw calls out a name, Ramirez must fire a paint gun and hit that stone before he’s shot with a paint gun by various “assassins” surrounding him. Gradually, we see him learn to instantly and accurately react, a skill that will come in handy later.
The biggest challenge for Ramirez is to convince Carlos’ girlfriends (Celine Bonnier, Liliana Komorowska) that he is Carlos in order to learn his whereabouts. This necessitates making love to them, a task he initially resists out of faithfulness to wife Maura (Claudia Ferri). Apparently the producers wanted to portray Ramirez as a Bond-style Renaissance man—as proficient in bed as with a gun. This presents another layer of morality. Is he betraying Maura? Or is it essential to achieving the goal of the mission?
Director Christian Duguay elicits decent performances from Quinn and Sutherland but Kingsley looks somewhat lost as a key Mossad agent. Quinn looks the part of a Naval officer and his scenes with Ramirez’s family ring true. The methodical regimen he’s put through before he can go into the field is tough, and Quinn shows in his facial expressions, body language, and occasional outbursts how the long hours of intense training are wearing on him. In an early scene, when Shaw explains why he wants him for the mission, Ramirez responds, “You have the wrong guy. Who you want is over there in England. His name his James Bond.”
Quinn’s dual role as Carlos and Ramirez isn’t overemphasized. We see the two characters together only in one climactic scene. Quinn handles the action believably and maintains an aloof annoyance at what his Ramirez is being put through. Cynical, angry, frustrated, lonely, overwhelmed and defiant, he forges through, his military training vital in allowing him to stay focused on the prize.
I’ve always found Donald Sutherland to have a playful manner, though he often covers it with a veneer of authority. As Shaw, he’s the unrequited good guy—intelligent, uncompromising, insistent, and coercive. He has a pocketful of arguments for why Ramirez should cooperate, and refuses to be shrugged off. You’re happy he works on the American side, but you wouldn’t invite him to dinner. Sutherland conveys these personality layers expertly, making Shaw richer than a cliche of uncontrolled authority.
Parts of the screenplay defy logic. It’s unlikely that two unrelated men could look so completely identical that one can pass as the other. Shaw and Amos appear to be working alone on this hugely important mission. We only see underlings briefly during the cemetery training. After his first kill, Ramirez has recurring visions of his bloody victim and he feels gnawing guilt. This humanizes Ramirez, but also undermines the training he’s had. Wouldn’t killing for self-defense and to fulfill the mission be a priority?
The Assignment was shot by directors of photography David Franco and Christian Duguay on 35mm film with spherical lenses and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The Blu-ray’s aspect ratio is 1.78:1. Clarity is excellent. Details are well delineated in Ramirez’ crisp Navy uniform, architectural ornamentation, automobiles, whiskers in Shaw’s beard, ripples in the river, pouring rain, and gruesome aftermath images of a terrorist bombing. Complexions are well rendered. The camera tracks Ramirez as he runs down narrow alleys and across rooftops, with numerous camera angles and deft editing maximizing excitement. There are interesting lighting effects in the deserted Canadian prison that serves as a training arena for Ramirez. Rays of sunlight shine through dusty, long unused windows giving the setting a ghostly look. The editing of the action sequences heightens suspense and adds tremendous kinetic energy.
There are two soundtrack options: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM. Sound mixing is seriously unbalanced. Dialogue is often obscured by too-loud sound effects and/or music. This is frustrating when important exposition is being delivered. I had to constantly raise the volume during these scenes to hear the dialogue. Sound effects include car engines and skids, gunfire, massive explosions, hand-to-hand fights with grunting and bodies being pummeled and thrown around, a heavy downpour, and an airplane’s jet engines.
The only bonus material on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Imprint Films is the following:
- Theatrical Trailer (2:24)
The Assignment is an exciting look into the world of covert operations and the sacrifices those involved must make to preserve national security. Unlike the James Bond films, this film doesn’t glamorize the job. In the Bond films, 007 comes to us already equipped to take on the bad guys, but in The Assignment we’re taken through the rigorous, stressful, frustrating and endless days and weeks it takes to prepare one man for a nearly impossible task. Though the viewer must accept script conveniences, the film delivers in excitement and suspense. Ramirez and the entire operation can derail unexpectedly leading to a lethal conclusion. This is one of the few films in which Aidan Quinn stars. He commands the screen for the most part, but it’s Donald Sutherland who knows how to draw the eye with his quirky mannerisms, wry smile, and persuasively threatening manner. Prescient nearly thirty years ago, The Assignment is sadly topical today.
- Dennis Seuling