Sean Marshall American Assassin is based off of a long running popular series by Vince Flynn. Those who aren’t fans of the series may get the impression just from watching the movie trailer that American Assassin is just another “Jason Bourne” type of movie/series. But I can assure you that it’s not, it might actually be better depending on what you’re into.
American Assassin follows Mitch Rapp, a guy who has his whole life turned upside down when a group of terrorists begin attacking civilians on the beach where he and his girlfriend are vacationing. Because of them the woman he loves is dead and he intends on getting revenge.
In the time that has passed since the incident, the CIA see’s potential in him that will help them carry out missions more sufficiently, at this point Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) begins to train him. Although I have not read the series I enjoyed the film for what it was. I like that each character had their own little back story. We get to see Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) in the beginning as this young guy who is happy and in love transform into some one who’s angry and very impulsive.
Michael Keaton was great, but I feel like his character was a little underplayed when it came down to what his character is supposed to be capable of. When other characters speak of him in the movie you’re given this idea that he’s the best at what he does but I feel like I only got that impression in one maybe two scenes. Emotionally speaking I think I might have liked to see a little more heart from Mitch Rapp besides him being impulsive and hell bent on revenge. He seems to show he cares for Stan Hurley after some time but it doesn’t feel sincere. their interactions were mostly just of Stan giving Mitch orders and he of course just won’t listen.
I thought the fighting scenes were great, there wasn’t so much of it to the point where it was overwhelming. On top of that they were not shy with showing some pretty gruesome kills which was cool. the fighting style was different from what I usually see in most action films these days. I would definitely look forward to seeing more of it in future installments.
The antagonist on the other hand, Ghost (Taylor Kitsch) didn’t leave a big impression on me. I mean he did kill people without hesitation and was planning this huge attack, but Taylor didn’t give me that villain vibe. His motives seemed a bit childish to me, so maybe that’s what killed it a little. Don’t get me wrong his acting was still great, but if he would have had a better back story he might have been the perfect antagonist.
I’d definitely recommend this movie, before this I never even heard of this series but after watching it on the big screen I have gained interest in reading the novels and I hope to get more of an understanding of Mitch Rapp and the rest of the characters.
Pros
- Good acting
- Character development
- Action sequences
Cons
- Some characters didn't reach their full potential
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