A cracking political action thriller, American Assassin pulls no punches in its introduction of a new lethal action hero played with skill and grit by Dylan O’Brien.
Remember the good ol’ days of the conservative action movie, where the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson reigned supreme? Well, it’s making a comeback. The mightily underrated Olympus Has Fallen started the body count, American Sniper brought box-office dollars, and Peter Berg’s blue-collar trio of Lone Survivor – Deepwater Horizon – Patriot’s Day stands as one of the best (unofficial) trilogies to be released.
Now comes an action movie that will appeal to the growing number of conservative millennials: the aptly titled American Assassin. Based on the first in a series of book from best-selling author Vince Flynn, American Assassin focuses on 23-year-old Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien). After the death of his fiancé at the hands of Islamic terrorists (depicted in a stunning opening scene that evokes the 2015 terrorist attack in Tunisia), Mitch undergoes a mental and physical transformation in a bid to seek revenge against the Islamic terrorist responsible.
Unbeknownst to Mitch, he is under the surveillance of CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan), who enlists Mitch as a potential block ops recruit under the tutelage of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). Together, they must defeat the emergence of a new threat to global security, known only as “Ghost” (Taylor Kitsch.)
Michael Cuesta (Kill the Messenger) takes no prisoners in presenting a very violent, non-conformist espionage story that is sure to be a gut-punch for many during these PC, safe-space times. While there are moments of Hollywood convention to be sure, American Assassin is refreshingly old school in its depiction of evil done in the name of evil, and the morally murky methods needed to combat its scourge. Most impressive though is that this is a film that refuses to venture into the “West is bad” mantra of the Bourne and recent Bond films. Some might call it a backward step. What it should be called is a much-needed action movie for our times.
Action sequences are expertly choreographed and executed, although a little less of the close frame, shaky cam stuff would have been of benefit. Impressive is Teen Wolf star Dylan O’Brien in the role of Mitch Rapp, taking to the action scenes like a master of the craft; punching, kicking, slicing and shooting through a barrage of bad guys with bad intent. O’Brien also does a great job in portraying the emotional turmoil his character endures, filling the void of a love ripped away, with an anger and lust for revenge turned into a focused and fatal weapon.
Keaton is also great in the grizzled mentor role, bringing that arched-brow intensity to an action role which the Oscar nominated actor used to dabble in during the ‘90s. It’s a suit he wears well, especially when that good ol’ “do you wanna get nuts!?” Keaton makes an appearance during a prolonged torture scene that, while venturing into torture porn territory, is made entertaining with Keaton in play.
An espionage action thriller of high stakes and a higher body count, American Assassin is brutal, entertaining and relevant. Here’s hoping for a continuous franchise.
