PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Assassination Tango (2002)

Assassination Tango (2002)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 16-Feb-2005

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 109:10 (Case: 114)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Robert Duvall
Studio
Distributor

MGM
Starring Robert Duvall
Rubén Blades
Kathy Baker
Luciana Pedraza
Julio Oscar Mechoso
James Keane
Frank Gio
Katherine Micheaux Miller
Frank Cassavetes
Michael Corrente
Raúl Outeda
Géraldine Rojas
Renee Victor
Case ?
RPI ? Music Luis Enríquez Bacalov


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, End Credits

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    It's hard to come up with any particular feelings about this movie. I mean, I watched it, and then had some time to think about what I saw and time to consider the hidden message, if any. And yet I am still left feeling like109 minutes of my life is now gone forever, never to be retrieved and now it's all too late!

    Even the title sounds curious. Assassination Tango - what's with a name like that? Are we going to go around shooting tango dancers in fits of rage? Or are we going to dance fluidly, flicking our legs against our partner while holding a machine gun and levelling the patrons sitting in the crowd. Well, sorry to disappoint, but neither of those scenarios really cover what we are in for here. Robert Duvall has put on some great performances in some of my favourite movies, but this was not in the same league.

    John J. Anderson (Robert Duvall) is a content man with a girlfriend he loves and whose daughter he cherishes and adores unquestionably. He passes his days by ensuring his family make it to work and school safely, and then he heads down to the local establishments for some refreshments and the occasional dance. While he portrays a content family man to outsiders, only a select few know that John J. is actually a well seasoned hit man available for hire. His latest job takes him to Buenos Aires in Argentina where his passion for dancing is piqued when he catches the local tango being performed in a club. While enjoying the local hospitality he must ensure that the upcoming assassination is planned to the letter and has a successful outcome, whilst maintaining a safe distance from the local law establishment.

(SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read)     John's target is the local General, and when he's taken ill John's short trip turns into a long wait so that the "hit" can be planned again after taking the new factors into account. John finds an interest in Manuela (Luciana Pedraza), a local dancer who teaches him the moves of the Tango. As John becomes captivated by Manuela's world he suddenly realises he already has everything he needs and he may not make it back to enjoy the beauty that was there all along.

    The long scenes with Robert Duvall and Luciana Pedraza striking up a conversation appeared to be unscripted. Or at best the script covered some broad topics that needed to be covered without actually spelling out the sentences. I found these sections rather interesting mainly from a movie-making perspective. They come off quite well and even as somewhat artistic, but the actual content was often boring. Luciana particularly strikes me as an interesting person. She was not only a magical dancer but also a good actress who either played the part well, or this happens to be her natural style anyway and she was simply being herself.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    Whilst the image cannot be classed as sharp, it is still quite acceptable nonetheless. Shadow detail suffers at times and background objects particularly can be hard to find or make out. Some deep blacks are to be had at 39:01 and the dark areas may be intentional to leave your eyes groping the screen for visual information just as the actor is doing. There is some film grain that is particularly visible on lightly coloured walls.

    The colours appear natural in tone and balance and the brightest example would be the dresses worn by Manuela and her sister.

    There were no MPEG artefacts seen. Aliasing is very rare and very mild when it does occur. Film artefacts are quite common, especially in the opening scenes and then they seem to taper off a little. While small in size there are a higher number of white specks than I would expect, especially from a 2003 movie production. Due to their colour they are made more obvious to the viewer than their black counterparts.

    The only subtitles available are in the form of English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles.

    This is a single sided disc so there are no layer changes to worry about.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only the one English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack to pick on this DVD. I must say that it was a pleasure to see so many channels being used on a title such as this. All too often we seem to end up with Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks, so well done in this particular instance.

    The dialogue was clear most of the time but Duvall does tend to mumble some of his lines regardless of the movie. It is not specifically an issue with the transfer, just Duvall's style. Some of the mobsters did tend to mumble a few lines as well but this simply gives a tough Brooklyn style feel to their characters and may well have been intentional.

    Audio sync was not a problem at all with this transfer.

    The musical score by Luis Bacalov was well mixed and a fitting choice for this style of movie. You will find your feet tapping irresistibly at times whilst watching the movie and it did tend to carry the story somewhat during the duller parts. I must say that at times the volume levels for the music did drown out the dialogue and could have been reduced for those few instances.

    The surround channels were well used for the music but unfortunately they were lacking for added ambience and even special effects at times. The instances when the rears were used did work well and certainly filled the room with some nice music to match the on screen action. There are no specific areas where precise sound placement can be heard as a result, nor was it required unless some more directional sound effects were also to be included.

    For a 5.1 soundtrack the .1 portion was very quiet. It provided a minor bottom end to the music but again there were no specific areas where it added to the sound effects. Some more effort could have been made here to bring some of the louder noises to this specific channel.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     There is only one extra and that's the same content as the main feature just jumbled into random order to make the movie more interesting than it actually is.

Menu

    The menu design is themed around the movie and in the same aspect ratio as the movie. It contains no moving clips nor audio.

Theatrical Trailer (1:52)

    This is of a comparable quality to the main feature and in the same 1.85:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;     The only extra worth missing seems to have made it to our local Region 4 version. Without a doubt the Region 1 version wins this fight hands down.

Summary

    Whilst I did find it vaguely interesting, this movie will probably remain in the DVD cabinet never to see the light of day again. If you have run out of movies to hire from the local DVD store then by all means give it a go. Duvall had the basis of a good movie but lost the plot quite early on and never seemed to get the show back on track. His fixation with growing old was too big a focus of the movie and once Manuela came onto the scene Duvall let the other points of the movie falter. If you are after romance, try the movie Tango instead. For some action, how about Tango & Cash?

    The video quality is acceptable.

    The audio track makes good use of the surrounds for the music but could have done with some more use from the effects.

    The extras are poor considering the list that is available in Region 1.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Peter Mellor (read my bio)
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDDenon DVD-1600, using RGB output
DisplayLoewe Aconda 9381ZW. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL).
AmplificationDenon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete
SpeakersWhatmough Classic Series C31 (Mains); C06 (Centre); M10 (Rears); Magnat Vector Needle Sub25A Active SubWoofer

Other Reviews
DVD Net - Jules F
Web Wombat - James A
AllZone4DVD - DonovanS