"Operation Sofia": B-movie has a premise that does question just how much the NSA spying accomplishes, when there are street people who know more

Well known stars do appear in B movies that appear to be about important things, and the thriller by Isaac Florentine, “Assassin’s Bullet”, also titled “Operation Sofia”, seems almost like a caricature of the genre.

    

While the US government and Interpol struggle to find a variety of terrorists, a vigilante, who appears to be either female or in drag (as if from Brian de Palma) goes around knocking them off, with a very high powered weapon in a knapsack. 

In time, we learn a little about the traumatic nature of her background. Hypnosis helps.  I’m reminded of a case where a diplomat was kidnapped in the late 1970’s and deafened by loud classical music being piped into his ears. She is certainly skilled with her disguises, bu tmaybe that's all acting.

   

A ambassador (Donald Sutherland) brings in a former FBI agent Robert (Christian Slater) to track down the suspected woman (Erika Portnoy), maybe with his male charisma. The US government is concerned that all its surveillance and NSA spying can’t catch people that a determined street vigilante can, but maybe that’s a credible moral premise.  Timothy Spall plays the psychiatrist, Dr, Khan.  Given that this is 2012, Robert could lose the cigarettes.  He’s not from the X-Files.

Sutherland has a great line. "I'm a political appointee.  I gave a bag of money.  I don't get to make decisions." 

    

The film was shot on location in Bulgaria, and Sofia looks more prosperous than I would have expected.

  

  

The DVD (Netlifx) comes from ARC Entertainment and Atlas International (any relation to the old American International or motorcycle movie fame?) 

  

The DVD has a sort “Making of Sofia”. 

  

Wikipedia attribution link for Sofia picture.