Worth watching for Stormare's limited scenes and some okay mob stuff. And I have a weird thing for Lifetime diva Yancy Butler, so there's that. But Chatwin chews the scenery shamelessly, the relationship scenes are torture and the dialogue is laugh out loud cop shop. Still, I was only intemittently bored and mostly entertained. Nice fish, too.
19 Reviews
Was that up to code?
nogodnomasters22 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Michael Connolly (Justin Chatwin) is a rookie detective assigned to checking in on mail box crimes. When a robbery and a murder takes place he is given the high profile job.
This is not a who-dun-it in Cleveland. We knows who did it and Michael has a pretty good idea because Yancy Butler tells him and she was no Huggy Bear.. There wasn't much in surprises. The plot was one we could have picked up from any crime film and it would have played better as a Columbo story. The characters kept the film afloat and they could have build the background info by something other than the boring bar scene.
Not a bad film, but one I had trouble remembering five minutes later to write a review.
Guide: F-word. Sex. no nudity.
This is not a who-dun-it in Cleveland. We knows who did it and Michael has a pretty good idea because Yancy Butler tells him and she was no Huggy Bear.. There wasn't much in surprises. The plot was one we could have picked up from any crime film and it would have played better as a Columbo story. The characters kept the film afloat and they could have build the background info by something other than the boring bar scene.
Not a bad film, but one I had trouble remembering five minutes later to write a review.
Guide: F-word. Sex. no nudity.
A few shining moments in a lackluster film
ginocox-206-33696815 May 2018
The Assassin's Code (2018) is not a bad film, for direct-to-video fare. The major beats are predictable well in advance. The heroes, villains and villains in the guise of heroes might as well be wearing black and white Stetsons and the characters who are about to die might as well be wearing red shirts. Production values are modest, although they do utilize an elegant mansion, casket and several luxury automobiles. Cinematography is unimaginatve, other than a few aerial shots that seem to be stock images. As is typical of low-budget productions, the film relies heavily on jiggly-cam shots which are distracting and shatter willful suspension of disbelief. The action/stunt choreography, car scenes and gunfights seem about thirty years out of date. The love story is not well developed and the reconciliation near the end seems to come out of nowhere. The acting is generally pretty good. Justin Chatwin is credible in the lead and Peter Stormare delivers a nuanced performance. Sprinkled throughout the film are little gems of dialogue and characterization that shine against the unimpressive background. While the film employs a lot of tropes and often seems familiar, it offers a few fresh moments. The damsel in distress scene has a unusual twist.
Retread story and less than compelling characters make this forgettable
garygwilliams16 May 2018
A classic thriller with a weak script and multiple lackluster perfomances. Another case of a passable story reduced to a unimaginative work that wastes the talents of decent actors. Jason Chatwin does a good job with little support and the work of Peter Stormare is first rate as the baddie. If you like John Wick or Proud Mary you may find this interesting but most will lose interest quickly.
Modern old school
DroogEditor4 May 2019
crime B-movie
SnoopyStyle15 June 2022
Cleveland police detective Michael Connolly (Justin Chatwin) lives under the shadow of his late disgraced cop father. He investigates a shipment of drugs stolen from police custody. Kurt Schlychter (Peter Stormare) is killing lots of criminals involved in the heist. District attorney Laura Consolo (Yancy Butler) suspects a vast criminal conspiracy within the power structure.
This is a lower budget crime B-movie. The opening should be a big heist action sequence but the filmmaking is not good enough. The budget is probably not big enough. The story telling needs more clarity. The acting varies. Chatwin is trying hard to be hard. Stormare plays a good killer but he could use more screen time. He should be equal to Connolly in terms of character importance. Other actors are less capable. It's a mixed bag. This movie is trying to be a hard-boiled crime story but it's mostly flat with inferior filmmaking.
This is a lower budget crime B-movie. The opening should be a big heist action sequence but the filmmaking is not good enough. The budget is probably not big enough. The story telling needs more clarity. The acting varies. Chatwin is trying hard to be hard. Stormare plays a good killer but he could use more screen time. He should be equal to Connolly in terms of character importance. Other actors are less capable. It's a mixed bag. This movie is trying to be a hard-boiled crime story but it's mostly flat with inferior filmmaking.
Another drinking game
jcarwall7 November 2018
Good and really loud.
mallaverack4 June 2018
This is a watchable movie more commendable because of its very modest budget. The marketing blurb was somewhat misleading in saying that a ghost-like assassin was stalking the investigative detective, as if said assassin's identity was unknown. We clearly knew the assassin's identity after his dispatch of no less than four victims in the early part of the movie!
The over-riding characteristic of this film for me was the very, very pronounced audio - loud musical score, loud sound effects. But this somewhat annoying quirk had a commendable spin-off....it is one of the very few U.S. movies in which the dialogue was easy to follow - no mumbling here. Boy, what a relief. I don't think I'm alone in being critical of the audio, especially diction in films from the U.S. For this improvement here alone, it deserves six stars rather than five.
Excellent Indy Film
mbreidegam14 May 2018
Went to the 5/12 screening at Harmony Gold theatre in Hollywood and really enjoyed the movie. It was a special screening that was promoted by Mark Thompson (of Mark & Brian) that is a co-star in it.
Plot was a bit predictable, but the film was good as it had some good laughs, of which the lines were improvised by the actors (as we learned in the Q&A).
The score, by Austin Wintory, was really good. It hit the film noir vibe nicely.
Yawn..
samuelitodo17 August 2020
Great little film!
Crankypants10118 April 2018
I saw the film's world premiere last week at the Cleveland International Film Festival, where it sold out every showing. It's a noir crime-thriller that's not what you'd expect -- it hits the ground running with action, then expands into an intelligent character piece. Justin Chatwin and Peter Stormare are both arresting in the kind of roles that indie films allow actors to break out of their stereotypes -- Stormare delivers an unexpectedly touching, tour-de-force monologue in one of the best standalone scenes I've ever seen; and veteran radio guy Mark Thompson ("The Mark and Brian Show") is fantastic as rookie-detective Justin's captain and surrogate father figure. The dialog is smart and laugh-out-loud funny, and the soundtrack is knockout. A real hidden gem of a film.
F this, F that....
Poster1773123 May 2022
I really dont understand why they have to overuse this word in movies. I get some people talk that way, but to hear it ever 2 minutes gets old. I couldn't watch past the first 10 minutes, and I curse myself on occassion.
Really boring
lopezpatricia-061393 December 2020
I find Justin chadwin to be disingenuous in any action role simple because he's so small. I kept thinking throughout wow he's so small how did he get to be a cop. The film has this silly "private eye in the city" soundtrack of a trumpet playing a sad tune all the way through. A story that's been told a million times, dirty cops and the one good one who brings them down.
CIFF 2018 Gem
jupiter00723 April 2018
As a lifelong Clevelander and movie fan, this was a gem for me.
Spectacular shots of downtown Cleveland provided an awesome backdrop for the film.
Fast paced crime thriller that keeps you on edge of your seat.
Justin Chatwin, Peter Stormare and other cast really created a cohesive an engaging performance.
Modern Noir-Great film
markreinwand5 April 2020
I never heard of the film until I saw it on prime. Was not expecting the noir but it worked great. This field hasn't seem to get a lot of attention but it deserves it. Very enjoyable with plenty of action and twists. There are a lot of movies on prime not worth your time but this isn't one of them. Everyone should give this movie a view. You won't regret it.
I love noir so maybe I'm being generous but I'm so happy I found this title and gave it a chance.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
greg003819 April 2018
I thought the movie was very well crafted. I liked the story line and while perhaps not totally original ad enough twists and turns that it kept you guessing for awhile. Beauty shots of Cleveland were just that, beautiful. I am a Clevelander and thought the production did the city and local talent proud. I really liked Justin Chatwin, he showed he can handle a lead role. Loved the bits oh humor scattered throughout the film. Peter Stormare, was great as usual and has a truly wonderful story telling moment in the film that was worth whatever salary they paid him!
Downright good movie
spcneundorf5 September 2018
Title and posters can be misleading
leon-geyer12 February 2020
Due to the film poster and the title & (unimaginative) subtitle, I thought I was going to see a superficial action film. Very wrong, from the beginning I noticed a film with good acting, also in many supporting roles (like Anweis) and even short roles (Cipolla), with a smooth pace (giving space for calm shots of silent reaction of actors), atmosphere, fantastic background music, original scenes, a script with some kind of unexpected twists, etc.
Ok, there are quite some cliches - some which work for me well, as making clear it is a detective story, film noir like, etc, and others which don't (the cartoonlike introduction of the assassin, the dumb detective caught of guard -?? -, the bad bad mafia leader). Anyway, the films gains in complexity and has really interesting (and some beautiful) scenes.
I enjoyed the film, and to be true, I think the former title should have been kept : Legacy. I finally understand at the end of the movie the actual title, and revealing it then is an interesting idea, but it leads to associate the film to other style of products (assisted by the ordinary poster and the empty subtitle).
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
