Very disappointing...

i must have seen a different film!!

Admirable film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

'The Shooter' (aka 'Hidden Assassin' which I find much cooler title) is quite trivial on the plot wise - special agent goes to Prague to catch supposed assassin, but things aren't like they seem. But the movie is well shot - bleak and cold cinematography creates nice '90s Eastern-European vibe, and somehow manages to feel artistic. By the time of filming this movie Dolph Lundgren's acting range had improved a lot and he is not as wooden as in some of his earlier movies. Heavely flawed, but still enjoyable time passer.

After becoming increasingly disenchanted with action blockbusters as of late, I've found myself drawn more and more to low budget action flicks. You know, the ones that star the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, even Mark Dacascos. These types of films offer up a more realistic, raw kind of action than the smooth and polished megabucks pictures. One other, often forgotten star of these straight-to-video bonanzas is Dolph Lundgren, who has been churning out his movies throughout the '90s to little recognition in and out of the genre. So when I saw that this film was in the late-night schedule of a trashy television station (Channel 5 to you UK readers), I couldn't resist.It starts off badly, it has to be said. An hour passes with little of interest to hold the viewer's attention, instead it's the same old scene-setting. Although the Prague setting does make way for some nice views of picturesque statues, monuments, buildings etc. At around the hour mark, the film suddenly changes into high gear, and is then packed with shoot-outs, car chases, and action up until the very end. The action scenes may be clichéd (the old train-top chase is brought into play, for example) but they are frequently exciting, with lots of machine guns blazing and Lundgren escaping from death time and time again.Which brings me to the acting; lamentable, as to be expected. Lundgren is extremely wooden here, although athletic when he needs to be. Detmers makes for quite an alluring femme fatale, and her final fate is quite a tragic one. The only other actor of interest is O'Herlihy, who essays the role of Lundgren's older, balding partner, and is quite likable in the part. There are many individual scenes of interest in this film; a moment where Lundgren cuts his own arm with a stanley knife (bet you can't guess how they did that!), a rooftop fight between Lundgren and a sniper, a shoot-out at a desert airport, and the finale, which involves a machine-gun battle between Lundgren and two of the main bad guys. Oh, and there's a scene of a man exploding and a John Woo-style slow-motion shooting in there somewhere too. THE SHOOTER may be clichéd entertainment, but it delivers on the action front, and is quite enjoyable in a so-bad-it's-trashy way.

I got it because I'm a Maruschka Detmers fan, and I wasn't disappointed in her part, however limited it was in showcasing her talents. I didn't take this movie seriously, and I'll bet the actors had fun making this movie.The scenery and location were very impressive, the interaction between the main characters was good, with a touch of (unintended?) comedy throughout. Some of the scenes were unbelievable, but that just added to the feeling that you couldn't take this seriously as an action-adventure movie. For example, how could Michael pass by all the security points, evil bad guys pursuing him unscathed? If it isn't taken seriously, well that's the fun of it.I had never seen Dolph Lundgren act before, and was comparing him to Arnold... both are hard workers.The story line is this movie's weakest point, along with a few minor characters who obviously were put in the movie for appearance but no acting ability whatsoever.Overall, I liked it and after repeated viewings, I still enjoy it.

Although this film is not interesting for its acting or its story line, you must see it (even with the sound off) if only for the absolutely gorgeous set design, lighting design, and cinematography, which combine to make this film an eye-popping piece of eye candy. It helps that the filmmakers had the beautiful old city of Prague to film in, with its rich architectural history, romantic interiors, cobblestone streets, etc. I wanted to print out almost every scene in the film and then frame them for my walls, so gorgeous were almost all the frames of film. Try it for this! You'll love it!