Robert Conrad doesn't break a sweat "Assassin," a second-rate, contemporary, sci-fi thriller. Neither should you. Retired secret agent Henry Stanton (Robert Conrad) comes out of retirement to save the day on one last assignment. Stanton's old boss Calvin Lantz (Robert Webber) wants Stanton to track down an invincible robot murderer. The catch is that this cyborg killer looks like a flesh and blood human. Indeed, "Assassin" is a lowest common denominator revenge movie with a robot tracking down former agency operatives and killing them with extreme impersonality. Symbolically, writer & director Sandor Stern gives the villain the surname Golem. Historically, the Golem was a Jewish monster sent to protect its people but revolts again them. "Assassin" amounts to a poor man's "Terminator" with few surprises. The cyborg has to recharge itself occasionally and it hides from our heroes while they scour an entire motel to locate it. Meanwhile, Conrad looks like he has packed on the pounds. He doesn't shed his shirt. In his glory days, Conrad always removed his shirt. He doesn't perform any strenuous stunts. He and his leading lady Karen Austin flirt with each other while Conrad's former boss, Calvin (Robert Webber), worries about his own life. Richard Young is okay as Golem. He can imitate voices. He can leap out of windows as long as they are no higher than the sixth floor. Veteran heavy Jonathan Banks plays a suspicious good guy. "Assassin' is abysmal.
