It's a great title, conjuring up the idea of an assassin and his target in an intricate dance of death with each trying to outwit the other. Not so oddly, none of this occurs in the movie, and the intended assassination has nothing at all to do with the tango. It could be that as a writer and director, Robert Duvall is a much better actor. In fact, I consider him my favorite modern day actor on the strength of such films as "Open Range" and "The Judge", not to mention the 'Godfather' films he appeared in. But here he just seems out of his league in a picture that meanders around in search of a compelling story line. In particular, the circumstances surrounding the Argentinian collaborators, Orlando (Julio Mechoso) and Miguel (Ruben Blades) was handled very weakly. Their apprehension by authorities was explained after the fact by a bug in John J's (Duvall) room, but it just seemed a very lazy rationale with a noticeable lack of intrigue. Regarding the 'tango' part of the story, I thought the dancers, Luciana Pedraza as Manuela, and Geraldine Rojas as Pirucha, were exceptional in their roles, but would have better served the story if their characters weren't so passive. Maybe this could all be fixed with a re-write in which Robert Duvall plays the part of The Tango Assassin.

I loved the movie. You could tell there was a special relationship between Duvall and Luciana and, when I looked up information about her, saw that they are married to each other! Duvall is one of my favorite actors. I loved The Apostle and so many of his mannerisms are apparent in both of these films. I was also not surprised to see that he wrote the Assassin's Tango, as well as directed it.Most of Duvall's later films are about real people and real-life situations and that is what makes them so interesting. Tender Mercies was the same genre of film. Even his swagger is the same in all of these movies.Thank you for the many years of entertainment.

Someone else states that the assassin as played by Robert Duval does not make you sympathize with the role, which is so wrong... I do not agree with that, as I was captivated by this man. From the start, it is clear that "John J. Anderson" is a cold blooded mafia assassin. That he performs his job with no moral issues or other qualms is quite clear, yet he has a complicated and satisfying personal life and a special relationship with his girl friend and her adolescent daughter- which he keeps very differentiated from his "job". He is also a very likable but cranky older man, much like many of other Duval roles in the past decade.What is also clear is that he is being set up from the start by the "client" his "boss" is dealing with, and the boss is even daring the client to make the job more difficult for Anderson - And so you are expecting a double cross, and we are not surprised when it happens, and of course, John J. Anderson, having done this job so efficiently and so well that he has lived to become an older man, smells it in the wind and knows just what to do.Not needing to go into the details of this it is clear that any lesser man with the same profession would have been sacrificed up to some Argentinian political agenda- Anderson has to extricate himself, and that he does. It does not matter that as the film viewer you expect him to do it... The way that he extricates himself is both amusing and interesting.Due to unexpected delays, Anderson has to spend more time in Argentina than he originally thought, missing his "Little Girl's" birthday, which upsets him more than the delay itself. But to take up time as he is waiting for the go, he has been intrigued by Tango and he gets to see Tango dancers in the country where the dance form originated. So, what makes this film ultimately pleasurable and interesting, is that Anderson starts to frequent dance halls where he eventually sees a dancer Manuela (Luciana Pedraza) and is instantly connected to her. And so he takes steps to meet her and begins an interesting relationship with her, not an affair, but a true friendship, and in this time he gets real Tango lessons and is brought to some clubs where the art form is being shown in full blossom. To see the various dancing by Professional Tango dancers in various places in the film-- Is just wonderful and a good side twist to the film, bringing your attention away from the fact that Anderson is quite probably trapped in Argentina and is being hunted. Maybe not the ideal film to represent "Tango" in itself, but this film is at least a curt nod to the art form, a genuine homage. The character Anderson, upon seeing his own inadequacies with his dancing, never postures or pretends that he knows more than he does, he meekly accepts Tango lessons from Manuela's sister and forms a bond with her whole family.And so as Anderson Tangos in his Mind with Luciana Pedraza, he also dances with his Argentinian Handlers, Police, and even Argentinian Government officials... All the way back to NYC. One of the better films I have seen lately, rates multiple viewings. I would say to any hard core Tango people, this film is not all about Tango, it simply includes Tango, so it is not meant to show us everything about that art form, just to give us a short look at how it is really done in Argentina.

One of the things that draws me to Duvall's movies, especially as he has aged, is the realism he tries to inject. Shrek's explanation of being layered like an onion is true of us all, we are not one thing but many. Think of his movie characters from the 15 years and remember the characters that talk to themselves, that repeat themselves in a sort of sing-song cadence, that are hot tempered; he plays reflections of himself. It has been almost 10 years since this movie was released and I still remember a short interview he did from his home in support of the movie. He knew it wasn't going to do well commercially, but he had discovered the intricacies, the balance, the practice required to do it correctly and fell in love with the Tango and wanted to expose it to others. There is a line in the movie that you are never too old to learn, I'm sure he interjected that because he discovered the Tango in his 60's and dances it to this day. The dialog isn't wired tight, nor is the plot; his dispatchment to Buenos Aries for a hit seems contrived at best (they couldn't find a local?) but it puts him at the birthplace of the Tango and to see the masters at work is lovely. The ending credits are run under a couple dancing outside that is breathtaking. The dialog of mostly normal people having normal conversations to me was one of the strong points of the movie; it is to greater effect than line by line recital although it did occasionally drag down the pace for sure. One of the female characters comments on dancing club Tango versus competitive Tango; one you must concentrate on every move and one you soar with the eagles and enjoy. While watching the movie, I recommend the club Tango.