I actually watched this film based on the recommendations of those who've commented here. It was just starting on BBC1 and, as I happened to be online at the time, I thought I'd check out what had been written here on IMDb. I'm glad I did as they convinced me to watch the film.
Whilst it's plot reads like your typical, cop-looking-for-revenge-B-movie that normally gets shown in the early hours of the morning to fill time, this plot is made watchable by tour-de-force performance from Anthony LaPaglia. He plays a undercover cop searching for revenge who's so good at being other people that he's losing his grip on who he is. LaPaglia slips effortlessly from character to character, sometimes within scenes you can see him taking on the characteristic of others. His English accent is well done, and I believe if you were to just see the scenes where he's seducing Jill Hallman, you'd simply assume you were watching a Hugh Grant style romance, except LaPaglia is infinitely more charming in my opinion.
Another performance of note is Kevin Pollack's. He gives a solid performance and makes a good foil to LaPaglia. Against these two, everyone else just seems to fade into the background.
Of course, there are problems with the film. If you analyse the plot for 5 minutes, it would probably all fall apart. Also, the film feels dated before its time, looking a few years older than it's 1995 release date would suggest. But these are by-the-by things for me personally as I enjoyed the performances so much.
Finally, for anyone interested in similar subject matter, I would highly recommend the 'Human Target' comic books written by Peter Milligan for DC comics.
Whilst it's plot reads like your typical, cop-looking-for-revenge-B-movie that normally gets shown in the early hours of the morning to fill time, this plot is made watchable by tour-de-force performance from Anthony LaPaglia. He plays a undercover cop searching for revenge who's so good at being other people that he's losing his grip on who he is. LaPaglia slips effortlessly from character to character, sometimes within scenes you can see him taking on the characteristic of others. His English accent is well done, and I believe if you were to just see the scenes where he's seducing Jill Hallman, you'd simply assume you were watching a Hugh Grant style romance, except LaPaglia is infinitely more charming in my opinion.
Another performance of note is Kevin Pollack's. He gives a solid performance and makes a good foil to LaPaglia. Against these two, everyone else just seems to fade into the background.
Of course, there are problems with the film. If you analyse the plot for 5 minutes, it would probably all fall apart. Also, the film feels dated before its time, looking a few years older than it's 1995 release date would suggest. But these are by-the-by things for me personally as I enjoyed the performances so much.
Finally, for anyone interested in similar subject matter, I would highly recommend the 'Human Target' comic books written by Peter Milligan for DC comics.