| Director | Robert Mandel |
|---|---|
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $20.6 million |
Movie special-effects expert Rollie Tyler is hired by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to stage the murder of Mafia informant Nicholas DeFranco. DeFranco is set to testify against his former Mafia bosses and go into witness protection, but the DoJ is afraid he will be killed before the trial. Rollie rigs a gun with blanks and gives DeFranco a rig with radio transmitters and fake blood packs to simulate bullet hits. The DoJ supervisor on the case, Edward Mason, asks Rollie to be the "assassin" wearing a disguise.
During the preparation, Lipton, the DoJ agent in charge, handles Rollie's gun. DeFranco wears Rollie's rig to an Italian restaurant, and the public "assassination" goes flawlessly. Rollie is picked up by Lipton, who tries to shoot him. In the struggle for Lipton's gun, the driver is killed and the car crashes, allowing Rollie to escape. He contacts Mason, who instructs him to wait for other agents to take him to a safe location; however, another man thought to be Rollie is killed by the agents, proving that Mason is trying to kill him too. Rollie retreats to his girlfriend Ellen's apartment, but she is killed the next morning by a sniper, whom Rollie kills in a fight.
NYPD homicide detective Leo McCarthy investigates the deaths of Ellen and the sniper and realizes it is connected to DeFranco, whom he has been pursuing for years. He discovers that the assassination was faked and Mason planned it. When he is suspended by his captain for his reckless methods, McCarthy steals the captain's badge and gun.
Using an elaborate phone setup, Rollie lures Lipton out in the open and kidnaps him, taking him on a rough ride in the trunk to get Mason's address out of him. After stealing his van from an impound, Rollie goes to Mason's mansion where he defeats Mason's guards; McCarthy follows and alerts the New York State Police.
Mason and DeFranco realize Rollie has found them. DeFranco shoots out several windows in Mason's study, and Rollie falls through one, appearing to be dead. Mason and DeFranco try to leave the house when a helicopter arrives, but DeFranco is shocked by a rigged metal screen door, disrupting his pacemaker. Before he dies of heart failure, Mason takes from him a key to a Swiss safe deposit box containing the funds DeFranco stole from the Mafia.
Mason prepares to escape but is surprised by Rollie, who holds him at gunpoint. Mason tries to bribe Rollie by giving him the key, proposing that they split the money, but Rollie refuses and puts his gun down. Mason picks up the gun and demands the key back, but Rollie reveals that the gun is empty and has Krazy Glue on its grip before shoving Mason out of the mansion toward the police, who misinterpret his actions as a threat and fatally shoot him.
Rollie fakes his death and is taken to the morgue, where McCarthy confronts him. Rollie impersonates DeFranco at the bank in Geneva and retrieves the $15 million in Mafia funds, which he shares with McCarthy.