Highly Overrated But Still Good

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I enjoyed director Nico Mastorakis' action packed "Nightmare at Noon", so when I found a copy of his action movie "Hired to Kill" in a thrift store, I bought it with the expectation I would be getting more of the same. Boy, was I surprised - and not in a good way. I can excuse the plot of the movie being a blatant rip-off of "The Dirty Dozen", since it is still a good premise after all of those years, and Mastorakis put in the twist of the people being hired by Brian Thompson's character all being women. However, despite that twist, the character are unbearable. Thompson is extremely curt and grumpy all the way through, and his female mercenaries are given next to no development with their characters. They all act alike and are completely interchangeable. As for the major talent, George Kennedy obviously knocked off all his scenes in a couple of days or so, and Oliver Reed obviously knocked off several drinks before his scenes were filmed.You might be saying, "I don't really care about that stuff - all I'm interested in are some good action sequences." Well, even if you have that viewpoint, you'll be disappointed with this movie. Believe it or not, the first 70 or so minutes are pretty much action free. The last 20 or so minutes do have some action, but except for a few cool looking explosions, the action is generic and nothing special at all. It's certainly not worth the wait.To sum up, this is just one of many lame straight to video action movies released during the 1990s. Even those who like B movies and can often forgive their shortcomings - and I am such a person - will find this hard to sit through.

Hired to Kill (1990)** (out of 4) A government man (George Kennedy) hires mercenary Frank Ryan (Brian Thompson) to sneak into a South American location and take out a ruthless leader (Oliver Reed) who is holding an important man (Jose Ferrer) hostage. Frank goes undercover as a gay photographer and his "models" are actually trained agents.HIRED TO KILL comes from director Nico Mastorakis who is best remembered for his notorious film ISLAND OF DEATH. This action picture certainly isn't in the same league but if you enjoy these low-rent action movies then you should get some kicks out of this one. Obviously there's nothing ground-breaking here but there are enough campy moments to keep you entertained. Plus, viewing this film twenty-five plus years after it was made, you can't help but smile thinking back on these types of movies that were made with such famous cast members.The entire plot to this thing is pretty stupid but in many ways you have to think parts of the screenplay are a spoof on the genre. A gay photographer? The film manages to be at its most fun during the finale when various explosion and gun fights are happening. The stunts are all well done and the explosions are great, although sadly a stuntman did lose his life. The biggest problem with the film is that there's just not too much that happens for the first hour. There are way too many dialogue scenes and not enough action.With that said, the cast is great or at least greatly entertaining. Thompson certainly wasn't a great actor but I thought he fit this role just perfectly. Reed, I'm sure drunk, is fun to watch as is both Kennedy and Ferrer in their small roles. The woman all look good and play up the sexuality, which is never a bad thing.

I love these old action movies with bad actors and all the cliches, they're simply just so funny. If you liked showdown in little tokyo or any of Arnolds action movies, then you'll like this :) Too bad this one wasn't shown in cinemas and I had to rent the DVD. So if you have a good sounds system and a thing for old action movies, then GET THIS ONE!!!

This is a movie with cult potential.Brian Thompson(in a rare leading role.)is the misogynistic soldier of fortune called on to lead an army of seven beautiful fashion models/ mercenaries to rescue an imprisoned leader from a despotic regime.Good supporting cast in the shape of the late Oliver Reed and Jose Ferrar.It also features a gay kiss scene(of sorts) between Reed and Thompson!The dialogue is cliched, but the action is good.The girls look as if they escaped from a Robert Palmer video.Good voyeuristic fun!