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The Assignment

After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible. After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible. After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible.

• Walter Hill
• Denis Hamill
• Michelle Rodriguez
• Tony Shalhoub
• Anthony LaPaglia
• 140 User reviews
• 89 Critic reviews
• 34 Metascore
• 1 win & 1 nomination

• Frank Kitchen

• Dr. Ralph Galen

• Honest John

• Nurse Becker

• Doctor Rachel Jane

• Sebastian Jane
• Hotel Manager

• Earl Hawkins

• Office Nurse

• Vladimir Gorski

• Mexican Man

• Stenographer
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The first draft of the screenplay was written in 1978.
• Goofs At around 48:06, when the main character is videotaping herself, she points a gun directly at the camera from a distance of probably less than a foot. This has the unintended consequence of revealing that the pistol is an Airsoft replica of an M1911 .45 ACP with a much-smaller inner muzzle than that of the real firearm.

[first lines]

Frank Kitchen : I killed a lot of guys. They were worthless pieces of shit, but I killed them, and you're not supposed to kill people. So what happened to me? I guess maybe in the end... it was a lot better than what I deserved. But it takes a long time to work that out. In the meantime, you just want to get get even.

• Soundtracks Blindfold Written by Joseph Hicks Performed by Halo Stereo

User reviews 140

• Mar 10, 2017
• How long is The Assignment? Powered by Alexa
• March 3, 2017 (United States)
• United States
• Official site (Japan)
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $5,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 35 minutes

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“ The Assignment ” is a film that arrives in theaters having already inspired vast outpourings of anger from two groups —the transgender community, which appears to be offended by its very premise, and action buffs, who are put off both by the premise (albeit for different reasons) and what they feel is a lazy execution that fails to offer the requisite thrills. While I am sympathetic to the complaints of both groups (somewhat more for the former) and recognize that it is indeed deeply flawed in many areas, I cannot quite agree with either. This is a modestly scaled B-movie by one of the best genre filmmakers of our time, Walter Hill , that has enough skill and personality going for it to make it worth checking out, even if it doesn’t quite live up (or down, depending on your perspective) to its borderline sleazy premise.

And what is that premise, you ask? In a nutshell, Frank Kitchen ( Michelle Rodriguez … just keep reading) is a ruthless San Francisco hitman who runs afoul of Dr. Rachel Kay ( Sigourney Weaver ), a brilliant but deranged surgeon who has lost her license for conducting various rogue experiments. Frank kills Dr. Kay’s brother, and the good doctor seeks vengeance and experimental research into the importance of physical identity on the psyche. She arranges with crime boss Honest John Hartunian ( Anthony LaPaglia ) to have him grab Frank and bring him to her secret lab, where she proceeds to perform gender reassignment surgery on him. Dr. Kay asserts that the surgery will take away Frank’s desire to kill. Needless to say, Frank sees things a little differently, and, once she discovers that the surgery cannot be reversed, she methodically hatches a grisly revenge plot on everyone involved with her transformation from Honest John and his goons all the way up to Dr. Kay. Helping Frank in her quest is Johnnie ( Caitlin Gerard ), a nurse with whom Frank had a one-night stand before his transformation and who doesn’t seem particularly nonplussed by recent developments, though it seems that she may be harboring a few secrets of her own.

At first blush, one can easily understand why the transgender community might be a tad put off by the very existence of “The Assignment,” but the actual film is nowhere near as offensive as it might initially seem. For one thing, the film as a whole is so willfully and deliberately pulpy in tone (I could easily see a short version of this tale fitting perfectly into the confines of a “ Sin City ” film) that it is hard to take the alleged provocations on display with any degree of seriousness—this is a film that is so archetypal in nature that the sort-of sweethearts at its center are literally named Frank(ie) and Johnnie. Additionally, to suggest that Frank is meant to represent all transgender people is nonsense because he is clearly not one himself, and, outside of the obvious physical construct, little about him changes after undergoing his forced surgery. I would also point out that no less of a filmmaker than Pedro Almodovar used the notion of unwilling gender reassignment surgery as a plot point in his own unabashed genre exercise, “ The Skin I Live In ,” and no one seemed especially put off by it even though the deployment there was arguably more questionable from a taste perspective than what is seen here.

That said, “The Assignment” is still a problematic work in many ways from a purely cinematic perspective. The screenplay by Hill & Denis Hamill (which Hill has been toying with since the late ‘70s) is an awkward construction with much of the story presented in a series of flashbacks, as the now-incarcerated Dr. Kay recounts the story to another psychiatrist ( Tony Shalhoub ). This concept is especially problematic since Hill is at his best when he allows characters to define themselves purely through their actions instead of relentlessly explaining themselves as they do here. The film also screams out for a more overtly stylized visual treatment in the vein of something like his great “ Streets of Fire ”—a fact underlined by the occasional bits of black-and-white photography and comic book-style transitions—that might have also helped to underscore the kind of pulpy approach Hill was clearly going for. Another big problem, at least at first, is the casting of Michelle Rodriguez as Frank. There is nothing wrong with her performance but the early scenes in which she portrays the male version of Frank, complete with a wildly unconvincing beard and a lingering close-up of his genitalia for good measure, do inspire a few bad laughs right when the film is trying to establish itself. For some viewers, it may never recover from that.

For those who can get beyond that, “The Assignment” contains plenty of points of interest. Sigourney Weaver is pretty much a blast throughout as the snidely condescending doctor who sets all of the events into motion. As for Rodriguez, once she sheds the beard, her performance improves greatly. Obviously, we know she can do the steely-eyed badass stuff as well as anyone else but she also gets a couple of quieter moments amidst the chaos where she displays a more vulnerable side without stepping out of character—in one, she consults a doctor about whether the surgery can be reversed and begins shyly inquiring about certain personal details regarding her new equipment. In the other, she is about to go to bed with Johnnie when she realizes that she has no idea of how to approach lovemaking from a female perspective. (“You’ll do fine,” she is reassured in a line that is both funny and strangely touching.) As for Hill, while he is clearly working with a lower budget than usual here (with Vancouver substituting, not too convincingly, for San Francisco), he is still able to establish a convincingly noir attitude toward the material and the scenes of violence are done in a spare and economical style that is a relief from the over-the-top pyrotechnics of most current action films. (He also gets bonus points for employing Giorgio Moroder to deliver a cheerfully retro synth score.)

It is easy to see how the dramatic excesses of the plot could prove offensive to the transgender community, though I can just as easily see “The Assignment” one day becoming a cult favorite in the way that the once-controversial “ Cruising ” would eventually find some fans within the gay community that once scorned it. As an exercise in unapologetic pulp fiction, it gets the job done in a smart, efficient and slyly subversive manner. As the latest entry in the Walter Hill filmography, it definitely belongs on the second tier. Even though it may not be the equal to a classic like “ The Driver ” or “Streets of Fire,” it will do until that next masterwork does come along.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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The Assignment (2017)

Rated R for graphic nudity, violence, sexuality, language and drug use.

Michelle Rodriguez as Frank Kitchen / Tomboy

Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Rachel Kay

Tony Shalhoub as Dr. Ralph Galen

Caitlin Gerard as Johnnie

Anthony LaPaglia as Honest John Hartunian

Paul McGillion as Paul Wincott

• Walter Hill

Writer (story)

• Denis Hamill

Cinematographer

• James Liston
• Phil Norden
• Giorgio Moroder
• Raney Shockne

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The assignment, common sense media reviewers.

Violent thriller irresponsibly tackles transgender themes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Gender reassignment surgery is portrayed as an exp

Main character Frank is a hired killer who commits

Gender reassignment surgery, which can be life-aff

Brutal shootings/killings. Blood sprays/spurts. De

Full-frontal male and female nudity. Sex scene wit

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "f--king

Brands of hormone tablets Premarin and Prevara are

Secondary character snorts cocaine on-screen. Scen

Parents need to know that The Assignment is an action/thriller with an irresponsibly handled topic at its core: The main character, an assassin, is given gender reassignment surgery against his will, changing his body from male to female. The content is extremely mature, including graphic nudity (male and…

Positive Messages

Gender reassignment surgery is portrayed as an experiment and punishment performed against someone's will. The film suggests that revenge can be warranted, offering satisfaction after trauma. However, glimpses of empathy can be found in the darkest of moments.

Positive Role Models

Main character Frank is a hired killer who commits violent acts and seeks revenge after being the victim of non-consensual gender-reassignment surgery. Frank generally shows little regard for others' lives but does have a strong determination to survive and extends empathy toward a dog and a character he has grown to care for, despite her double-crossing behavior. Dr. Rachel Jane puts scientific discovery before others' suffering, cruelly experimenting on unhoused people. She's arrogant and vengeful and shows no remorse for her actions.

Diverse Representations

Gender reassignment surgery, which can be life-affirming (if not life-saving) for individuals, is portrayed here as non-consensual and experimental, used as a punishment. Frank tries to get his surgery reversed, saying he thought it's what he wanted, which plays into damaging narratives about people changing their minds about surgery. Pre-surgery Frank is played by cisgender female actor Michelle Rodriguez in a mustache, beard, and chest plate, and she puts on a deep voice. Post-surgery Frank has a relationship with a woman; during sex, he says "I'll do what I can," implying that intimacy between two female bodies is somehow lesser than heterosexual sex. Offensive moments include a male doctor asking a female doctor whether she commits crimes because she didn't have a good sex life. Female bodies are sexualized, including Frank using his naked breasts to distract other men. A psychiatric hospital is referred to as the "nut house." Racist language is used toward a Chinese character, including "chinky" and "Chinaman." There's some ethnic diversity within the cast -- Rodriguez is Dominican-Puerto Rican and there are actors of Chinese and Middle Eastern descent in supporting roles.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Brutal shootings/killings. Blood sprays/spurts. Dead bodies. Kicking, beating. Streaming blood. Bloody wounds. Brief images of surgery relating to non-consensual gender reassignment, with gory, bloody cotton/bandages. Hypo needle held to neck. Attempted sexual assault, followed by perpetrator being beaten to death with a baseball bat. Passing mention of death of father and brother. Reference to dog fighting and killing dogs.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Full-frontal male and female nudity. Sex scene with thrusting (includes tearing open condom wrapper). Woman in sexy underwear; there's mention of paying for sex, implying that she's a sex worker. References to "pimps" and "hookers."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "f--king," "motherf--king," "bulls--t," "s--t," "s--thead," "t-ts," "ass," "a--hole," "bastard," "douchebag," "piss," "hell," "goddamn," and "idiot," as well as racial slurs ("chinky" and "Chinaman").

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Brands of hormone tablets Premarin and Prevara are mentioned and taken by a character.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Secondary character snorts cocaine on-screen. Scenes of heavy drinking straight from liquor bottles. Social drinking. Drugs shown, including hormone tablets taken by lead character.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Assignment is an action/thriller with an irresponsibly handled topic at its core: The main character, an assassin, is given gender reassignment surgery against his will, changing his body from male to female. The content is extremely mature, including graphic nudity (male and female full frontal), bloody shootings, beatings, and killings, and brief but semi-graphic sex scenes. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," and "a--hole," plus racist terms like "chinky" and "Chinaman." Characters use drugs, including cocaine, and the main character occasionally drinks alcohol (sometimes too much). Due to the mature (and badly handled) themes and violent and sexual content, the movie is appropriate only for older teens and adults. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In THE ASSIGNMENT, a prickly, Shakespeare-and-Poe-quoting surgeon, Dr. Rachel Kay ( Sigourney Weaver ), lives in a psychiatric hospital and is interviewed by Dr. Ralph Galen ( Tony Shalhoub ). She tells her story in flashback. Her brother, in trouble with gangsters, becomes the target of an assassin named Frank Kitchen ( Michelle Rodriguez ). Dr. Kay subsequently kidnaps Frank and performs non-consensual gender reassignment surgery on him as revenge. And so Kitchen awakens in a female body, and, after searching for a way to reverse the procedure (and failing), decides to get his revenge on everyone connected to Dr. Kay -- all the way up to dangerous, well-protected gangster "Honest John" ( Anthony LaPaglia ).

Is It Any Good?

This thriller starts out with a ludicrous and irresponsibly handled idea. Even directed in a pulpy, creative way by Walter Hill (who worked with Weaver on Alien as producer and is best-known for directing action classics like The Warriors and 48 Hrs. ), The Assignment struggles to escape its misguided premise. Certainly the film is inauthentic, casting cisgender female actor Rodriguez to play both pre- and post-surgery versions of a male character. And though The Assignment tries to praise trans people for their courage, its portrayal of gender reassignment surgery as a punishment plays into damaging narratives. When real-life discrimination against trans people is a huge problem in society, it makes it difficult to concentrate on the movie's redeeming features.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Assignment 's violence . Does it feel gratuitous or necessary? What impact does the pulpy nature of the filmmaking have? Does associating it with comic book violence change how you view it?

The film centers on a character who has non-consensual gender reassignment surgery as a punishment. What message do you think this sends about surgery for transgender people? Why is it important to be conscious and careful about portrayals like this on-screen?

How does the movie portray drinking and drug use ? Does it make substance use seem enjoyable? Glamorous? Or does it seem sad/desperate? Are there consequences ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 7, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : June 6, 2017
• Cast : Michelle Rodriguez , Sigourney Weaver , Tony Shalhoub
• Director : Walter Hill
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors, Middle Eastern/North African actors
• Studio : Saban Films
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 95 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : graphic nudity, violence, sexuality, language and drug use
• Last updated : November 6, 2023

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The Assignment | Review

A Dish Best Served Bold: Hill’s Revenge-Thriller a Sleazy Mix of Action and Body Horror

In present day San Francisco, brilliant but demented surgeon Dr. Rachel Kay (Sigourney Weaver) is being reevaluated by a psychiatrist (Tony Shalhoub) who has been charged with determining if the woman, deemed clinically insane, is now mentally fit to withstand trial. It seems she was found wounded on an operating table with the bodies of several corpses around strewn about in her illegal underground clinic where she frequently experimented on ‘disposable’ people her hired thugs would fetch. The good doctor insists she didn’t murder her bodyguards, which instead was the work of an assassin, Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez), a man she had taken vengeance on two years prior by drugging him and performing sex reassignment surgery to turn him into a woman. But there’s no record of a man or woman with such a name, and no evidence to suggest anyone else was at the scene of the crime. But as Dr. Kay tells her tale, the odyssey of Frank’s transition, and how it played into the current state of affairs, is revealed.

Those concerned with a cisgender woman portraying a reluctant trans woman (the same audience members, who, by default, must also believe LGBT performers can only portray LGBT characters defined by their representative letter) should note Hill isn’t the first director to formulate a revenge plot around forced sex reassignment, recently explored in Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In (2011), and with greater complexity by Rainer Werner Fassbinder back in 1978 with In a Year with 13 Moons . Rather, this plot device would seem to belong to a particular subgenre of body horror. But Hill and screenwriter Denis Hamill amp up the camp of both those auteurs with this treatment, which also resembles a plot point of Hill’s underrated 1989 neo noir Johnny Handsome . As evidenced by the comic book swipe transitions Hill recently formulated in a director’s cut of his classic The Warriors (1979), this is clearly supposed to be entertaining pulp, and clearly not as a logical representation of an actual transgender trajectory (as evidenced by a slick and magical surgical transition, reminiscent of vintage Hollywood studio films where marred beauty was always easily restored).

As Frank, Rodriguez is front and center (her most notable leading performance since 2000 breakout Girlfight ), voiced with a gruff machismo, and leading the film through a series of flashbacks, involving a swath of vengeful killings which do little to enliven the film with any real energy (likewise, a rather wan supporting turn from Caitlin Gerard as nurse Johnny seems to be on hand merely for a surprise reveal). The formulation of Frank’s punishment is much like the Penelope Cruz character of Don’t Tempt Me (2001), a mobster turned into a woman as part of her punishment while residing in hell. The point of Hill’s film isn’t to degrade or demean, but instead exists on a spectrum depicting and dealing with inherent cultural misogyny—if a punishment worse than death is to exist as a woman, the film underlines the continual problematic notions of gender in a world where men are considered superior (to borrow a snatch from Madonna, “Because you think being a girl is degrading”). The psychological shadings of (re)Assignment aren’t so layered or cerebral as this would suggest, and in many ways the film resembles exploitation cinema in style and tone.

However, what makes The Assignment of automatic note is a deliriously funny performance from a deadpan Sigourney Weaver as the psychotic Dr. Rachel Kay, the actor’s first real turn calibrated specifically for camp. A pretentious and privileged surgeon, she’s interviewed in a straitjacket by physician Tony Shalhoub—why and how she ended up in such a position is revealed through large swaths of exposition, divulged via chewy chunks of mocking banter where Weaver belittles her colleague through literary allusions to Poe and Shakespeare. A generous amount of withering monologues delivered by her unhinged surgeon buoy the film with some priceless comic relief.

On the technical side, DP James Liston manages to make the film look like one of Hill’s 80s action titles (with Canada standing in for San Francisco), while increasingly meticulous intertitles announcing specific times and locations eventually mutates into an exaggerated, ongoing joke. And perhaps best of all is a phenomenal synth score from none other than Giorgio Moroder adding an additional layer of grungy ambience, marking The Assignment as a gem for those who can appreciate bold, retro style spliced with button pushing genre.

Reviewed on September 11 at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival – Special Presentations Programme. 95 Minutes.

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.

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The Assignment

Cast & crew.

Aidan Quinn

Annibal Ramirez

Donald Sutherland

Ben Kingsley

Claudia Ferri

Maura Ramirez

Céline Bonnier

• Average 5.8

Information

© 1997 Allegro Film Productions V Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Assignment is 6733 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 4296 places since yesterday. In Canada, it is currently more popular than I Am DB Cooper but less popular than Foxtrot Six.

Jack Shaw has experienced the terror first-hand. He's a top CIA agent who's tracked international killer-for-hire Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez for over twenty years and barely survived Carlos' devastating bombing of a Parisian cafe. Now, he finally gets a break when he discovers Carlos' dead ringer: American naval officer and dedicated family man Annibal Ramirez.

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Shaw reluctantly joins forces with the crew to take down Cipher. Statham plays Shaw with ferocity and charisma despite getting little screen time, fusing a gruff demeanor with tender and humorous moments. The Fate of the Furious received positive reviews for its over-the-top approach and Theron's wicked performance . It was also a major box office hit, and while it doesn't necessarily rank among the best Fast and Furious movies , The Fate of the Furious works as a thrilling action film and a solid entry into one of the most consistent modern franchises.

The Fate of the Furious

9 'fast & furious presents: hobbs & shaw' (2019).

Serves as a spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw focuses on the titular characters, played by Dwayne Johnson and Statham. Hobbs and Shaw must work together to stop a dangerous cybernetically-enhanced terrorist named Brixton Lore ( Idris Elba ), who is determined to obtain a virus that could threaten humanity's future.

Critics and audiences widely praised Statham's performance in Hobbs & Shaw . He is known for his intense and charismatic presence on screen, and his portrayal of Deckard Shaw in the film was no exception. Despite mixed reviews, Hobbs & Shaw is a thrilling action flick with excessive bloodshed, wild stunts, and tons of amusing banter between the main protagonists .

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Rent on Apple TV

8 'The Beekeeper' (2024)

Rotten tomatoes score: 71%.

A glimmering dose of earnest action thrills that thrives as a celebration of old school blockbuster fun, The Beekeeper looms as being one of the great sleeper hits of 2024. Statham stars as Mr. Clay, a vengeful associate of a mysterious group known as the “Beekeepers” who utilizes his resources to track down the scammers whose attack led his landlady to die by suicide.

Its solid 71% score from critics is supported by an audience score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the film universally being praised as a fun and exciting action flick that serves as yet another testament to Jason Statham’s brilliance in the genre . All in all, The Beekeeper is a thoroughly satisfying film that leans heavily on genre tropes but executes well to be one of the best action movies of Statham’s career thus far.

The Beekeeper

Watch on Fubo

7 'Fast & Furious 6' (2013)

Jason Statham’s arrival into the Fast & Furious franchise in Fast & Furious 6 was effectively what cemented the saga’s transition from car racing films to bona fide action blockbusters, even if his first appearance was only a brief cameo. The film focuses on Agent Hobbs’ ( Dwayne Johnson ) pursuit of a mercenary gang, something he recruits Dom ( Vin Diesel ) and his crew to help out with given their connection to the gang’s leader.

Armed with some outstanding action sequences and a good sense of humor , Fast & Furious 6 leaped from the platform founded by Fast Five as a scintillating action spectacle. It marks what is undoubtedly a high point of the Fast & Furious franchise, and, despite only appearing briefly, serves as an emphatic re-affirmation of Jason Statham’s impact as an action star.

Fast & Furious 6

6 'the italian job' (2003), rotten tomatoes score: 72%.

The Italian Job follows a proficient thief named Charlie Croker ( Mark Wahlberg ), who leads a team of skilled criminals. After a successful gold heist in Venice, their teammate, Steve ( Edward Norton ), betrays them and leaves them for dead, taking the gold for himself. Driven by revenge and the desire to retrieve their stolen loot, Charlie and his crew plan an elaborate heist to steal the gold back.

Statham played Handsome Rob, a skilled wheelman and member of the heist crew. His performance received praise for his ability to add humor to the movie, which offered comedic relief and gave the role a fun edge. Moreover, The Italian Job is a very entertaining heist movie that combines action, tension, and humor . It is well renowned for its elegant and suspenseful car chases.

The Italian Job (1969)

5 'snatch' (2000), rotten tomatoes score: 74%.

A true classic of modern comedy, Guy Ritchie's hit film Snatch is a brilliant mixture of narrative wit, hilarious dialogue, and English crime grit that thrives with Jason Statham in the leading role. He portrays Turkish, a small-time boxing promoter who finds himself indebted to a merciless thug when his fighter, a freewheeling gypsy brawler Mickey ( Brad Pitt ), refuses to go down during a rigged fight. Meanwhile, a stolen diamond of immense value becomes the focus of the criminal underbelly.

While the massive ensemble cast does dim Statham's impact on the film somewhat, he still shines in the comedic role when on screen, with his dry cockney wit and his knack for timing on full display . Snatch has secured a cult classic status and even become a bona fide hit in its own right, so much so that the Rotten Tomatoes score of 74% is surprisingly low if anything.

4 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' (1998)

Rotten tomatoes score: 75%.

Written and directed by Guy Ritchie , Love, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels marked his directorial debut. The film follows a group of four friends in London who find themselves in deep debt after a rigged card game. In an attempt to repay their debt, they plan a heist on a local gang, which leads to a series of comedic and chaotic situations. Statham plays Bacon, a streetwise and humorous character with a knack for card games and a love for shotguns.

A major breakthrough for Statham, the film helped launch his career and marked the first of many collaborations between him and Ritchie. Despite a tepid initial reception, Love, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels has since gained cult status and is renowned for its elegant direction, clever language, and ensemble cast.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

3 'the bank job' (2008), rotten tomatoes score: 80%.

Based on a true story, The Bank Job follows a group of amateur thieves who plot and carry out a bank robbery in London's Baker Street area in 1971. However, they soon realize that the heist is not as straightforward as they initially thought. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that the bank's vault contains compromising photographs of prominent political figures, which triggers a chain of events involving intelligence agencies, criminals, and high-ranking officials.

The Bank Job offers a fascinating insight into criminals , their equally dishonest rivals on the other side of the law, and several hoodlums who operate in the gray area. Although not as popular as other entries in the genre, this clever effort is a successful and compelling movie about bank robberies . Statham played Terry Leather, the leader of the group planning the heist. He brought his signature intensity and physicality to the character. It also showcased his ability to handle both action-packed scenes and more dramatic moments.

The Bank Job

2 'furious 7' (2015), rotten tomatoes score: 81%.

Furious 7 is the seventh installment in the Fast & Furious film franchise. After the events of the previous film, Deckard Shaw (Statham) seeks revenge on Dominic Toretto and his crew for the injuries sustained by his brother Owen Shaw ( Luke Evans ). Meanwhile, the family is also being pursued by a covert government agency led by Mr. Nobody ( Kurt Russell ).

Furious 7 emphasizes the family motif that has come to rule the franchise and includes some crazy stunts . Furthermore, it's a touching send-off to the late Paul Walker , lending this piece more emotional weight than would otherwise be the case. Statham's Deckard Saw is among the best villains in the Fast and Furious movies, with the actor delivering a menacing yet wholly entertaining performance.

1 'Spy' (2015)

Rotten tomatoes score: 95%.

Paul Feig 's Spy follows Susan Cooper ( Melissa McCarthy ), a desk-bound CIA analyst who volunteers to go undercover as a field agent when the identities of all active undercover agents are compromised and to avenge the death of her partner. Her mission takes her across Europe as she attempts to track down a deadly weapon and uncover the identity of the dangerous arms dealer, Rayna Boyanov ( Rose Byrne ). Statham played the character Rick Ford, a highly skilled but overly confident and bumbling spy.

Spy is a comedic departure from Statham's usual tough-guy persona. He fully embraced the absurdity of the character, delivering his lines with impeccable comedic timing and exaggerated expressions. Anchored by a never-better McCarthy, Spy is arguably the 21st century's best spy comedy and a brilliant showcase for Statham's impressive comedic abilities .

NEXT: The Best Action Movie Heroes of All Time, According to Letterboxd

Nostalgic Buzz

RANKED: The 30 Worst Movie Sequels of All-Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes

Posted: May 11, 2024 | Last updated: May 11, 2024

30. Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)

29. Major League II (1994)

28. Troll 2 (1990)

27. Universal Solider: The Return (1999)

26. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)

25. Big Momma's House 2 (2006)

24. Atlas Shrugged: Part 2 (2012)

23. Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017)

22. Caddyshack II (1988)

21. scary movie v (2013).

20. Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997)

19. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

18. Daddy Day Camp (2007)

17. The Whole Ten Yards (2004)

16. The Next 365 Days (2022)

15. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)

14. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege

13. Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)

12. The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)

11. The Sting II (1983)

10. Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? (2014)

9. The Gallows Act II (2019)

8. The Ring 2 (1999)

7. 365 Days: This Day (2022)

6. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)

5. Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)

4. Staying Alive (1983)

3. Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)

2. Jaws The Revenge (1987)

1. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)

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Operation Napoleon Reviews

Frigid B-film that has the visuals right but not the story.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Sep 29, 2023

... A thriller of classical edges with a feverish and tenacious pace, along the lines of '80s espionage intrigues that marked the end of the Cold War. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 27, 2023

The characters are sketches of a hero and heroine whose actions are taken from the most boring script playbook possible... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 25, 2023

Ultimately, Operation Napoleon is just another of a thousand other films in the adventure-conspiracy genre.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 25, 2023

This flat conspiracy thriller doesn’t translate its intriguing backdrop to consistent suspense.

Full Review | Aug 18, 2023

A relatively non-brooding Icelandic thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Aug 14, 2023

In the right hands, this adaptation could’ve been a slam dunk. Instead, it will likely be something you can catch on the SyFy network at two in the morning on a Saturday.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Aug 11, 2023

The Icelandic/German conspiracy thriller “Operation Napoleon” would be as comforting as its airport thriller plot if it weren’t also baggy, joyless, and spiritually depleting.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Aug 11, 2023

The film’s main problem... is that it has all the hallmarks of a tight 90-minute thriller, but takes its sweet time. At nearly two hours, “Operation Napoleon” feels like too little cargo packed into too big a plane.

Full Review | Aug 11, 2023

Operation Napoleon is a shallow slog of a thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 11, 2023

Overlong, lackluster and often anemic while too low on thrills, intrigue and palpable suspense. In a double feature with the French thriller Black Box, it would be the inferior B-movie.

Full Review | Aug 10, 2023

More or less watchable...but..a classic ninety minute thriller wrapped in an ungainly 110 minute package..

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 14, 2023