American Assassin
3/4
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Shiva Negar, Sanaa Lathan, Taylor Kitsch, David Suchet, Navid Negahban, Charlotte Vega, Joseph Long
Rated R for Strong Violence Throughout, Some Torture, Language and Brief Nudity
"American Assassin" does exactly what it needs to. No more, no less. That it does the absolute bare minimum to get a passing grade does little to sway me from recommending it simply because the pickings are so slim. It may not be ambitious or end up on my Top 10 list at the end of the year, but it has some great action and suspense. You get what you pay for.
Mitch Rapp (O'Brien) is a grad student on vacation with his girlfriend Katrina (Vega). Just moments after she accepts his marriage proposal, terrorists attack the resort they are staying at and she is brutally murdered by a terrorist named Adnan al-Mansur (Shahid Ahmed). Intending on exacting revenge in blood, Mitch poses as a recruit to get to his target, but before he can kill al-Mansur, a military squad does the job for him. What he doesn't know is that the CIA has been tracking him. Director Stansfield (Suchet) thinks Rapp is too unbalanced to work for them, but another agent named Irene Kennedy (Lathan) sees something special in him. So she sends him to train with Stan Hurley (Keaton), who trains the best and the brightest in covert ops. Soon he's tracking down some missing plutonium, and an assassin who may have ties to Hurley.
"American Assassin" moves so fast that few of the characters or their motivations can really gain any momentum. The story is gripping, yes, but it's hard to care about anyone in this movie because we don't get enough time to get to know them as people. They're props for the story. The only one we care about to any degree is Mitch, and that's because we know his backstory.
CBS Films took a big risk putting this movie on the shoulders of a teen star. This is not a teen-friendly movie; the R rating is deserved (for once). It's violent and it's brutal. But Dylan O'Brien, star of "Teen Wolf" and "The Maze Runner" movies, is solid in the lead role. He lacks the gravitas of a more established star with a bigger presence, but O'Brien makes that work to his advantage. By looking so young and small, he feels more vulnerable but at the same time his intensity makes him seem more lethal. It's a strong performance. Sadly, his co-star, Michael Keaton, is not as impressive. Keaton, a star from the 80's and 90's who saw a career resurgence with movies like "Birdman" and "Spotlight" (a performance for which he should have, but did not get, an Oscar), is coasting on his charisma. The women fare worse: Shiva Negar is little more than a pretty face and Sanaa Lathan is miscast. Taylor Kitsch is solid in a cliché role. Veteran Iranian creep Navid Negahban turns up the nasty, but he's only on screen for a few scenes.
The problem with the film is that it takes no chances. Just about every plot point and reveal is easily predicted, and while a few interesting ideas are breached (such as the cost of being Dirty Harry and making things personal), there's little follow through. A stronger script that really dealt with these issues could have turned a solid thriller into a great one. Perhaps on the level of "The Peacemaker," a film that this bears some similarity to.
Still, for those who are in the mood for some R-rated action and adrenaline, you could do worse.
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Shiva Negar, Sanaa Lathan, Taylor Kitsch, David Suchet, Navid Negahban, Charlotte Vega, Joseph Long
Rated R for Strong Violence Throughout, Some Torture, Language and Brief Nudity
"American Assassin" does exactly what it needs to. No more, no less. That it does the absolute bare minimum to get a passing grade does little to sway me from recommending it simply because the pickings are so slim. It may not be ambitious or end up on my Top 10 list at the end of the year, but it has some great action and suspense. You get what you pay for.
Mitch Rapp (O'Brien) is a grad student on vacation with his girlfriend Katrina (Vega). Just moments after she accepts his marriage proposal, terrorists attack the resort they are staying at and she is brutally murdered by a terrorist named Adnan al-Mansur (Shahid Ahmed). Intending on exacting revenge in blood, Mitch poses as a recruit to get to his target, but before he can kill al-Mansur, a military squad does the job for him. What he doesn't know is that the CIA has been tracking him. Director Stansfield (Suchet) thinks Rapp is too unbalanced to work for them, but another agent named Irene Kennedy (Lathan) sees something special in him. So she sends him to train with Stan Hurley (Keaton), who trains the best and the brightest in covert ops. Soon he's tracking down some missing plutonium, and an assassin who may have ties to Hurley.
"American Assassin" moves so fast that few of the characters or their motivations can really gain any momentum. The story is gripping, yes, but it's hard to care about anyone in this movie because we don't get enough time to get to know them as people. They're props for the story. The only one we care about to any degree is Mitch, and that's because we know his backstory.
CBS Films took a big risk putting this movie on the shoulders of a teen star. This is not a teen-friendly movie; the R rating is deserved (for once). It's violent and it's brutal. But Dylan O'Brien, star of "Teen Wolf" and "The Maze Runner" movies, is solid in the lead role. He lacks the gravitas of a more established star with a bigger presence, but O'Brien makes that work to his advantage. By looking so young and small, he feels more vulnerable but at the same time his intensity makes him seem more lethal. It's a strong performance. Sadly, his co-star, Michael Keaton, is not as impressive. Keaton, a star from the 80's and 90's who saw a career resurgence with movies like "Birdman" and "Spotlight" (a performance for which he should have, but did not get, an Oscar), is coasting on his charisma. The women fare worse: Shiva Negar is little more than a pretty face and Sanaa Lathan is miscast. Taylor Kitsch is solid in a cliché role. Veteran Iranian creep Navid Negahban turns up the nasty, but he's only on screen for a few scenes.
The problem with the film is that it takes no chances. Just about every plot point and reveal is easily predicted, and while a few interesting ideas are breached (such as the cost of being Dirty Harry and making things personal), there's little follow through. A stronger script that really dealt with these issues could have turned a solid thriller into a great one. Perhaps on the level of "The Peacemaker," a film that this bears some similarity to.
Still, for those who are in the mood for some R-rated action and adrenaline, you could do worse.
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