Actors like Tim Roth and Aaron Eckheart occupy a strange space in the modern movie business. They both have big roles in massive superhero blockbusters and several celebrated adult dramas. Though they’ve proven themselves time and time again, they still find themselves in total schlock between good projects. Classified is one of the funnier examples of talented performers slumming it for a paycheck.
The mind behind Classified is Dutch director Roel Reiné. Reiné mostly creates straight-to-DVD sequels to unsuccessful action movies. He helmed Ted DiBiase’s cinematic debut in the first of five follow-ups to John Cena’s The Marine. He replaced Cena again, directing 12 Rounds 2 with Randy Orton in the lead role. Reiné’s projects tend to disappear from the public eye almost immediately, and Classified is no exception. At least he got to direct an episode or two of Halo.
Tim Roth and Aaron Eckhart Answer Classified Ads On Amazon’s Top Ten
Classified follows Aaron Eckhart as assassin Evan Shaw, an apparent idiot savant who is only good at murder. He’s pretty sure he works for the CIA, but he hasn’t seen his handler (Tim Roth) in ages. Shaw carries out one extrajudicial killing after another with only the cryptic personal ads in his local newspaper to guide him. He’s a miserable, lonely widower who takes to shooting people the way a lot of men get into woodworking in their twilight years. His daughter (Abigail Breslin) reaches out to inform him that Tim Roth has been dead for years. Whoever sends out Shaw’s instructions has nothing to do with the CIA, and Shaw has been killing people on some random person’s whims. Shaw becomes enraged when he learns that his murders were not state-sponsored, prompting a quest to find the true personal ad poster.
Classified is a comprehensively terrible project. The dialogue is abysmal, the premise is hilarious, and the script completely wastes Tim Roth. Aaron Eckhart is the star, but the film still wastes him on the same generic spy stuff he’s already done. Beyond that comprehensive creative failure, the production brought its stars into peril. Abigail Breslin accused Eckhart of unprofessional and aggressive on-set behavior, stalling production to advocate for her own safety. She later filed a complaint with SAG-AFTRA, but the production company took Eckhart’s side. Dream Team Studios and WM Holdings filed a lawsuit against Breslin, claiming that the actress hurt the production with her accusations. They had to drop the suit, but Breslin has spoken about the negative impact this experience left on her reputation. If there’s even a shred of truth to her story, Classified is as sinister as it is terrible.
There’s no reason to recommend Classified. It’s a bad movie with a bad production history. Critics and audiences seem to agree, but people are still tuning in on Amazon Prime Video. These things happen. People see a handsome face on the thumbnail and assume it’ll kill an hour or two. Rest assured, this one isn’t uniquely bad, but it is uniquely unpleasant.
