Asher (2018)

Asher takes the familiar “aging hitman” premise and gives it real bruised soul, anchored by Ron Perlman’s wonderfully weathered performance—he doesn’t just play tough, he plays tired in a way that feels earned. Michael Caton-Jones wraps Brooklyn in a noir hush of dim bars, cold sidewalks, and moral corners, letting the tension simmer rather than constantly shout, while the script finds unexpected tenderness in the spaces between the violence. Famke Janssen brings a calm, human counterweight, and Richard Dreyfuss adds a sharp-edged gravitas that makes every conversation feel like a negotiation with fate. If you want a nonstop action rush this may feel too deliberate, but if you’re in the mood for a moody, adult thriller about what it costs to change late in life, it’s a quietly compelling watch.

Asher is clearly aiming for a moody, late-career hitman character study—less “big action thriller,” more “tired killer wondering if he can still be human.” The problem is it leans hard on familiar genre beats and well-worn dialogue, so even with a solid cast, the story rarely surprises or feels especially believable. The pacing can drift, spending a lot of time in brooding atmosphere without delivering the tension or emotional payoff you’re hoping for. If you’re in it mainly for a tight, propulsive crime thriller, you’ll likely get restless, but if you’re a Ron Perlman fan who enjoys quiet, downbeat noir vibes, it has enough grit to hold you for a night.