Watch Tag: The Assassination Game For Free

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One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Gathering up a small pile of Video's that I'm hoping to sell during the Christmas period,I noticed a Video with a very cheap & tacky cover.Originally expecting the movie to be nothing but an extra low-rank Action movie,I was instead shocked to discover,that along with featuring Forest Whitaker (playing a boom-box carrying "gangsta" thug!) in his debut role,the film also had Linda Hamilton in the lead role,which led to me going back on the school play fields to play a deadly game of tag.The plot:Struggleing to find a subject to fill up the student newspaper,journalist Alex Marsh decides to do a report on the 6th annual Tag:Assassination tournament is being held at his university,where students are each given a dart gun,and told that they have to "take out" all of the other students,in order to become the number one Tag champion.Finding himself quickly drawn into the event's world,Alex finds himself following Tag whizkid Susan Swayze,who he witnesses quickly rising through the ranks.Unbeknowst to Susan,as she gets closer to reaching the Tag final,the reining champ decides that he is going to have to take extreme measures in order to hold on to his title… View on the film:Featuring name checks for Lauren Bacall and Raymond Chandler, (and also covering the student newspaper wall with a huge Bogart poster) writer/director Nick Castle gives his teen riff on Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game a terrific Film Noir edge,as Alex finds himself being unable to look away from the dangerous adrenalin rush of the Tag tournament,and also the sassy, witted charms of Susan.Whilst Castle's path into a Slasher-lite territory, (the reigning Tag champion is a complete nutter) does water down the movies Noir charm,and the roguish thrill of being caught up in the exciting,ruthless tournament,Linda Hamilton gives a terrific spirited performance as Susan Swayze,with Hamilton showing a proto-Sarah Conner level of daring and guts as Susan battles to dodge the final "Tag" that could lead to her game,being permanently over.

Basically a cross between a slasher film, romantic comedy and drama. The acting is better than in slashers but the script ends up being lacking at times, not enough comedy and the romance angle was largely boring. The biggest draw to the movie and the real reason there is a cult following of sorts (cult following among those who actually saw it) is because of kids or teens who had dart guns and loved the concept of the game being portrayed and in fact this movie inspired the creation of such games. The movie thus should have devoted more to the game itself. It not only would have made it more interesting but also more suspenseful.The killer is revealed within the first 20 minutes. It would have been better if the identity of the killer was not shown so we do not see what the killer looks like. The only time Tag players other than Susan and Gersh appeared was when they were interacting with Susan or Gersh. It would have been nice to see some of the other players making kills. In combination with the killer's identity being secret, or at least the face of each assassin not being shown until after a kill this would have increased the thrill factor because the audience would wonder whether each upcoming kill would be real or fake. Mixing up real and fake kills would have done wonders. Instead there were just 3 players murdered on screen with a total lack of surprise or suspense plus we do not care much about the victims either. With so few murders the movie needed more of the game shown and some suspense. Towards the end it is revealed that Gersh murdered 5 players. Yet only 3 bodies were shown in his room. If the budget and/or time did not permit hiring more actors or showing the other two kills at the very least the movie should have shown Gersh calling Carpenter to report the kills so the audience would be aware of them. The way the reveal played out, many viewers don't even realize these extra two kills supposedly occurred. Another problem is that while the killer has a motive to commit the first murder (to silence the victim) there is no reason to continue killing which for sure will result in getting caught. It is hard to buy that someone snapped so completely over a game even if he has little else in his life. Odd is that while he has no qualms about violating the rules while using a real gun he obeys the time limits, "no shooting after midnight". Compared to some slashers though with the likes of super human freaks nearly impossible to kill this is relatively minor.Another minor issue is that on 2 occasions various players teamed up to get Susan. Why would players team up to get her? If anything you would expect them to team up to get Gersh. Allowing players to team up seems to run counter to the whole spirit as well of each having a target.The love scenes were just plain boring and the retro music corny. The real charm was the game and it simply was not developed as much as it should have been. As in Halloween, music is used extensively to set the mood and try to frighten. There are not enough scary scenes though, and the only thrill is towards the end as the killer is chasing Susan.Action centers mainly around 2 buildings that are Gothic and Romanesque. Props for the choice because they look great on film. Definitely a film that is watchable as long as you take it at face value and accept some parts are slow moving.

The first thing I notice when I watch "TAG" is that the film seems to have been made on TV tape....it has that feel. Sound and lighting are basic, and it's clear from the outset that this movie was made on a shoestring budget.It is the acting that brings this film through. Linda Hamilton studied Lauren Bacall very closely, and makes a credible run at a "To Have and Have Not" moment, and Robert Carradine hams it up as a budding ace reporter. Bruce Abbott is darkly psychotic as the bad guy. Hard to believe that Linda married this guy!Worth a look at least once, if you can find it.

Overall, I thought this movie was OK. Seeing Linda Hamilton in an early role was fun, as was the premise. This movie came out during the height of "assassination" games where you try to "eliminate" someone you've been assigned to, without that person knowing you're after him/her. Of course, someone is looking to eliminate you, too.If you want a fun movie to eat popcorn with, check this one out.