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Overrated

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

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

Assassin of the Tsar might be a parable, for which I give the following view: the event was one of the most important in the Russia's history. Killing the Tsar was profound in the people's mind since common people looked at him with reverence. Moreover, his family and entourage of 9 people also was killed. This tragic event might haunt the conscience (in an abstract sense) of the Russian people. Its justification raises moral questions and now, after history showed the effects of Russian revolution, we can ponder about it retrospectively. It would have been easier if the Tsar was marked by avarice and carelessness for his own people, decadent and a simpleton, as probably some communist propaganda movies must had depicted. However, the director chose to show him in a different light: he is studious, tactful and intelligent. On the other hand, the local chief NKVD-ist Yurovsky does what he does out of duty for revolution. One asks in the movie "Is it that simple?"The interpretation might be extended as the assassin representing the Bolsheviks and the Tsar, the aristocracy/high class that was to be eliminated. In this light, we explain the following: Yurovsky is a approached by the mother of a girl that disappeared and he knows nothing about it. Doctor Timofeyev (the embodiment of "typical Yurovsky") worryingly speaks that he is not guilty about it. The girl's interpretation then is the mass of innocent people that died and suffered as a consequence of Bolsheviks' revolution. Assassin of the Tsar is a fantasy/absurdist movie that is presented in a serious mode - respecting the subject by avoiding the dry humor that often accompanies absurd movies. I would interpret the second doctor (Aleksandr Yegorovich) as the embodiment of the typical light-hearted/forgiving part of the history.

I saw this c. 92 in a limited festival release, and then it disappeared for 17 years. For a long time, to my disappointment, it didn't even show up under MacDowell's name here on IMDb. But I'm glad I've tracked it down and just re-watched it (Netflix). It is (surprisingly) just as good as I remember it. It moves with deliberation and resorts to no emotional leg-pulling. It is uncolored by the subjectivity that movies frequently trowel on to hook an audience. It is meditative throughout, not concerned with spiking your adrenaline every ten minutes. The fictionalized framing device is OK enough, but it doesn't intrude as the movie builds to its inexorable, distressing finish. You watch as an infamous event approaches, and the two story threads converge on the assassination of the entire Romanov family. The audience I saw this with was glued to their seats. Nooone is completely sympathetic. No one is completely unsympathetic. No moral judgment is passed on the Romanovs, or for that matter, the assassin Yurovsky. They are just unlucky people caught up in a certain moment.It is the perfect mid-career role for MacDowell. He was lucky to get such an interesting part. (It's a Russian production.) But he does a great, unshowy job.

A touching film about errors, duty and colors of fear.Interesting poem about the nooks of reality, the shadows of dreams, the dust of old hours and the ghosts of some gestures.Exploration of history and its chimeras with the Russian manner to see, describe and show the essence of a sick world at twilight of emotions.The talks between doctor and the victim of a terrified past are not only a subtle catharsis form or an exploration of truth but exercise to discover the roots of last form of original sin, the taste of truth, the rules of past, the marks of victim's respiration. Not a reflection in old windows but escape of spirit beyond the games of destiny or malicious accident. The characters are reflections of a strange era, specters of ambiguous desires and actors of a mad god. And only propriety, only way to be yourself is memories collection as shadow of a lost soul.Show of memories, ladder of past, puzzle of facts and illusions, "Tsareubysta" is a very profound and subtle exercise to define the time and its shadows without shadows, masks or regrets.

In my opinion very imaginative movie, nicely depicted psychological drama that introduced a lot of interesting data and unanswered questions from Russian history. Story of this movie is well balanced mixture of reality and main character's imagination, leaving a viewer a lot of space to separate one from the other at his own will. The plotline is smoothly and intelligently guided with interesting flashbacks, and clever dialogues. Though I would normally dislike the idea that famous British actor is hired for main role in completely Russian production, Malcolm McDowell was perfect choice for this character, and he made really great performance, fitting perfectly in the Russian surrounding. I highly recommend this movie.