Assassination Island – Final Kill (2020)

Directed by: Justin Lee | 78 minutes | action | Actors: Ed Morrone, Randy Couture, Danny Trejo, Billy Zane, James Russo, Edward Finlay, Paige Sturges, Johnny Messner, Laura Cantwell, Danielle Gross, Taylor Gerard Hart, James P. Bennett, Reggie Watkins, Lauren Francesca, Will Rothhaar, Anita Leeman Torres, Drew Pinsky, Megan Therese Rippey

A movie poster depicting Danny Treyo as the target of the vehicle in question doesn’t bode well if director Robert Rodriguez isn’t involved. Treyo is a glorified extra with little acting talent. A few manage to get a decent performance out of this man – including Rodriguez – but usually Treyo’s game can be called downright flat. Anyway, if the man with the furrowed face has to be the crowd puller, you know what kind of genre film to expect: hard-hitting action. That is not the case in the case of ‘Assassination Island’. With disastrous consequences…

‘Assassination Island’ revolves around old hand Mickey (Ed Morrone) who takes one last job in order to be able to retire with it. What initially seemed like a simple job for the security expert, turns out to be a wasp’s nest in practice. The apparently innocent couple he has to protect turns out to have stolen a large sum of money from a criminal and trigger-happy family.

Well. The chance that someone will watch this film for the story is nil. This accumulation of clichés is presented rather uninspired by frequent filmmaker Justin Lee (four(!) films in 2018, two in 2019 and already a twist in 2020). In fact, this is a kind of job creation for B and C actors like Treyo, Randy Couture and Billy Zane. This faded glory may make an attempt at acting in exchange for a few cents. The fact that no one is fully convinced does not make it any better. For some reason, TV Doctor Drew Pinsky also plays a part and his name is prominently featured on the poster. Clearly a marketing stunt.

‘Assassination Island’ is a sad affair. The action is portrayed clumsily (read: broken down so that it is barely visible who is hitting or kicking whom), the story contains unnecessary flashbacks that are introduced very confused and the dialogues are painfully bad. Treyo, who is quite prominent on the cover, also has a fairly small role.

What remains is a superfluous fight film without action, but with a weak story and acting. Anyone looking for that will be in for a treat with this production.