Where to watch Hidden Assassin
1 1/2 Stars
The Ambassador of Cuba was killed in New York. To prevent another attack of the terrorists at the US-Cuba summit in Prague, the CIA sends one of their best federal agents, Michael Dane (Dolph Lundgren). The suspected killer, Nikita, is a lesbian club owner, Simone Rosset. But as usual, everything is much more complicated than it seemed at first, and therefore, Dane has to work much more with his brain than with his muscles to survive.
Hidden Assassin was released straight to video cassette in 1995, the same year lead actor Dolph Lundgren appeared in his last theatrical movie, Johnny Mnemonic. For the next 15 years, he was seen only in movies available on your video store’s new release wall and not in theaters. This European production starring the Swedish beefcake Lundgren and directed by Canadian Ted Kotcheff is a deadly dull action thriller that gets more ludicrous as it reaches its nihilistic conclusion. Hidden Assassin doesn’t give Dolph a chance to display his martial arts prowess, physical presence, or charisma in this grim-looking film, which seems intent on being serious. Character actors John Ashton and Gavan O’Herlihy spice up the movie with their performances, while Maruschka Detmers adds sex appeal and little else.
The teaming of action icon Dolph Lundgren with the director of First Blood, working from a screenplay co-written by Billy Ray, in a political thriller set in Prague, should have been a home run or at least vaguely engaging. Unfortunately, Hidden Assassin would mark the beginning of the big downturn in Lundgren’s career, and it’s easily, along with Cover-Up, the dullest of his work in the 90s.
Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Written by: Yves André Martin, Meg Thayer, Billy Ray
Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Maruschka Detmers, Assumpta Serna