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American Assassin (2017) - Movie Review

2 starsThe biggest battle in Michael Cuesta’s action thriller American Assassin doesn’t come from its jingoistic statements about America’s populist fight against terrorism. Nor do any of the film’s numerous hand-to-hand combat pieces or budget-busting CGI sequences particularly represent its most significant hostilities. No. The real conflict – and sadly the film’s most under-utilized theme – is one that pits cocky, young CIA black ops trainee Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) against his grizzled mentor and CIA veteran, Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton).

The film is an adaptation of Vince Flynn’s series of twisted spy novels (in particular, the 11th book in the series) that follow the exploits of Mitch Rapp, a bitter young man running on pure anger and a ravenous craving for revenge. We learn that, following the sudden death of his beautiful fiancee at the hands of terrorists 18 months prior, Rapp is recruited by the CIA to assist in its global counter-terrorism force. But first, Rapp must survive Hurley’s rigorous training program that takes place in an undisclosed proving grounds deep in the wooded hills of Virginia.

It’s headstrong-raging-ball-of-anger Rapp against hardened-ex-Navy-SEAL Hurley as the former is schooled in martial arts, mind games, and PSYOP warfare techniques. Their testosterone-driven determination to out-do the other is best summed up when Rapp responds to Hurley’s orders to be ready to go at 5:00 am the next morning. He leans into Hurley’s face with a cocksure grin and grumbles, “I’ll be there at 4:30!”

Forget the globe-hopping escapades, stolen plutonium, and crooked Iranians that follow. It’s this he-man battle of wits between mentor and protégé that outshines everything to come. Too bad Cuesta and his gaggle of screenwriters (including Edward Zwick) aren’t aware of that. So we’re left with the bare bones of a boilerplate espionage thriller that is neither exciting nor innovative.

The plot has its moments, particularly during its middle act as the explosive Rapp is learning to set aside the anger he harbors over those who killed his fiancee. But a preposterously realized finale coupled with some shaky CGI featuring a fleet of American warships enduring a nuclear blast, brings everything to a screeching halt. Clandestine jaunts through various European waypoints as the agents attempt to track down a faceless gauntlet of bad guys provides an interesting beauty to the film’s settings. If only the plot were able to hold the same level of interest.

Keaton keeps his recent hot streak alive with yet another memorable performance and even holds his own in the physical bits against his much younger co-stars. O’Brien certainly looks the part of an up-and-coming A-list star, and is actually quite convincing with the role’s physicality. He’s a whirling-dervish of an ass-kicker and reminds of what Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves brought to Jack Reacher and John Wick respectively. But we’ll have to see if he can build from here going forward. The film’s best moments are realized when O’Brien and Keaton share the screen and are almost good enough to overcome the film’s abysmal closing act.

As CIA Deputy Chief Irene Kennedy, Sanaa Lathan storms about the place barking orders, while Friday Night Lights’ Taylor Kitsch does his best with a severely underwritten role as a missing ghost CIA agent who may or may not have information on the missing plutonium.

American Assassin has all the necessary ingredients to be the universe-building spy thriller it sets out to be, and with loads of source material from Flynn’s 16-chapter saga, there’s no shortage of places to take this wanna-be-franchise. But with a fairly significant stumble out of the blocks, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether we can expect more. The much-better Jack Reacher did well enough to warrant more, yet blew it with the follow-up, while John Wick has become the standard-bearer of the genre that is becoming a bit too crowded for also-rans that aren’t quite up to snuff. American Assassin is a well-executed, well-choreographed action thriller, but simply doesn’t do enough to make us remember any of it once we reach the parking lot.

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American Assassin (2017) - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: Strong violence throughout, some torture, language and brief nudity
Runtime:
111 mins
Director
: Michael Cuesta
Writer:
Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch
Cast:
Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan
Genre
: Action | Thriller
Tagline:
Assassins aren't born. They're made.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'll be there at 4:30."
Theatrical Distributor:
CBS Films
Official Site: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanAssassin
Release Date:
September 15, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: AMERICAN ASSASSIN follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien), a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War.

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American Assassin (2017) - Movie Review

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