Beyond the Mask

In 1775 England, a hired assassin for the East India Company (Andrew Cheney) wants out of the business, so he's betrayed and left for dead by his evil boss (John Rhys-Davies). Worse, he falls for the man's niece (Kara Killmer) and longs to atone for his wicked career—so he moves to America, gets a job with Benjamin Franklin and discovers a plot to blow up the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Written by Paul McCusker and directed by Chad Burns, this laughable would-be epic is even more ridiculous than it sounds, a terminally silly farrago of 18th century James Bond derring-do, dewy-eyed Harlequin romance and masked-superhero exploits—with just a dash of simpering Sunday-school preaching. Nice sets, though—and Killmer is appealing, reminiscent of Uma Thurman at the beginning of her career. J.L.