Even killing machines need love, and this is the theme behind Ben Medina’s ECCO. OK, admittedly the theme is not as cynical as it sounds. I come from that school that says that human beings were created to love and need love. Assassins are no different.
Michael (Lathrop Walker) was born and bred to be a deadly contract killer. He was the best of his breed. Trained to kill, trained to survive, and brainwashed to live this solitary life. ECCO opens on two parallel paths of Michael’s life. One path is a flashback from years ago. Michael assassinates a team of sketchy executives on the verge of closing a deal with global ramifications. Michael is an exceptional assassin, and their deaths look like a jet plane accident.
This being his last job, he returns home to his newly minted girlfriend Aubrey (Helena Grace Donald). All he needs to do is collect his bounty, and they can live the rest of their lives together unencumbered by the past. That doesn’t go well as Aubrey is fridged and Michael is sent back for reprogramming.
“…the best of his breed. Trained to kill, trained to survive, and brainwashed to live this solitary life.”
The other path shows Michael today. He’s living a life of anonymity on a fishing boat. After a long tour, he returns to his pregnant wife Abby (Tabitha Bastien), and after a long-awaited night together, Michael receives a mysterious phone call telling him, “they” know where he is. Now Michael is on the run, and he has to get Abby and their unborn child to safety. The only way for Michael to get his life back is to figure out his hazy past, then find and stop those who are after him.
"…you can’t practice killing people unless you actually kill people..."
