Assassination Tango (2003)

48% of critics liked it
(87 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(2,099 ratings)

Leading man Robert Duvall writes and directs his third feature, the romantic thriller Assassination Tango. John J. (Duvall) is an aging hit man who has settled down into family life in New York with teacher Maggie (Kathy Baker). After he is offered a good sum of money, he accepts a job to kill an… More Leading man Robert Duvall writes and directs his third feature, the romantic thriller Assassination Tango. John J. (Duvall) is an aging hit man who has settled down into family life in New York with teacher Maggie (Kathy Baker). After he is offered a good sum of money, he accepts a job to kill an Argentinean General in Buenos Aires. When he gets there, he finds out he has to wait three weeks to finish the job, so he stays in Argentina and studies the tango. He meets young dancer Manuela (real-life girlfriend Luciana Pedraza making her film debut) and the two become dance partners and begin to flirt with one another. Meanwhile, the assignment lingers. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 54 min.
Directed By: Robert Duvall
Written By: Robert Duvall
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 28, 2003 Limited
On DVD: Dec 9, 2003
Studio: MGM Distribution Company

Critic Reviews

Jan Stuart, Newsday
Assassination Tango runs aground with an accumulation of small illogicalities.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
It's a curious and unsatisfying lark, in which Robert Duvall the actor is rendered speechless by Robert Duvall the writer and sideswiped by Robert Duvall the director.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Its many tiny character details make up for the ludicrous story it's telling.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
What we care about in Assassination Tango is the tango, not the assassination.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
While the assassination plot is interesting, the rest of Tango is dramatically flaccid.
Tom Long, Detroit News
An ode to love and art while simultaneously a reminder of human frailty.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
It is a form of condescension that Duvall could only perpetrate while being blinded by true love.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
O ritmo é lento, falta foco à narração e o ato final é confuso. Por sorte, este não é um filme sobre "tramas", mas sobre personagens - e é aí que merece elogios.
Jeremiah Kipp, ToxicUniverse.com
It's slow, but it's also sure-footed. Duvall takes it at his own damn pace, and his grouchy old man of a contract killer is a well-rounded and wholly believable personage.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
More a song about living and dying well than a picture that makes much sense in the traditional definition.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
For tango lovers and homicidal maniacs that like to dance before killing.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
I loved this film for what it didn't try to do.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Turgid and self-indulgent...haphazardly constructed and featuring dialogue that sounds poorly improvised--as well as a central character who's less a human being than a collection of cliches.
Victoria Alexander, Movie Reviews in Croatian
Are there 72 year-old hit men?
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...it would be a mistake to dismiss Duvall's career behind the camera as a rich character actor's hobby.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
If Duvall wanted to celebrate his hobby, he should have made a documentary.
Josh Larsen, Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)
You get the feeling Duvall took a tango trip to Buenos Aires and haphazardly decided to make a crime movie while staying there.
Jason Anderson, eye WEEKLY
While Duvall's contribution to the tango canon may not add much to its mystique, it still offers considerable pleasures to anyone who shares his interest.
Laura Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Not so much a movie as a chance to sidle up alongside Robert Duvall and twirl around a cinematic dance floor with him.