A slow moving yet very brutal crime film should make for an interesting evening if you are into a lot of gun play and a few surprises. It’s more of a film noir, and for those who fit the genre Asher is definitely worth a look. Opening this weekend in selected theaters the movie has a respectable hitman plot that tends to lean toward an impossible one sided romantic crush.
A hitman, Asher (Ron Perlman) has been the top assassin for the Jewish Mafia for some time. His mark that he leaves behind when the job is done consists of a puddle of water. A brutal callous man, he takes orders from a syndicate through local contacts, but he’s on his last leg and wants to end his career.
Following his most recent hit, he meets up with his main contact who gives him three hits to take carry out and promised a way out of the Mafia forever. However, when one of the hits go bad in an apartment house, he runs into Sophie (Famke Janssen), a tenant who finds Asher falling against the door of her flat. In her, Asher feels a human bonding that he’s missed for a long time.
Shortly after the snafu he gets a call from the top man who wants Asher to work with three other guys on an important hit. He’s not a fan of trusting others to do a job with him and he may have reason for it as this hit may change his life forever. Director Michael Caton-Jones keeps the film moving at fast pace keeping his established main characters involved in most of the action.
Caton-Jones’s focus however, turns to the relationship building between Asher and Sophie giving the film a romantic edge before moving on to the brutal job ahead. If there are some flaws in the film, and there are, it’s with this relationship which seems very unlikely with Perlman’s hard personality playing opposite the winsome Famke Janssen. Especially since her character wouldn’t have taken a man into her apartment she couldn’t trust. Everything from this point on gets complicated and wavers somewhat.
The movie Asher should have had more energy, but it’s a bit too slow as the film drags between action scenes and the story starts to get clichéd. It also looks like the writer did not have his mind on the ending as it really left me cold. Asher has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and language.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Only if you are a big fan of the stars. (2 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Ron Perlman, Famke Janssen, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Facinelli and Jacqueline Bisset
Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language
Running Time: 1 hr. 57 min.
Opening Date: December 7, 2018
Distributed by: Momentum Pictures
Released in: Theaters, VOD and Digital HD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
