American Assassin
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch
They killed the wrong guy’s girlfriend – oh yes, they did.
Mitch Rapp is busily romantically proposing to his girlfriend – with his mother’s ring, no less – in the sea at Ibiza when a posse of AK-47 wielding terrorists put a dampener on the whole day.
In short order the girlfriend is dead, Mitch catches a slug or two himself, and it’s game on, molls.
Mitch becomes a revenge-driven machine, living only to infiltrate the terror cell responsible and kill its leader.
This brings him to the attention of the CIA. “I like your agenda,” his new handler offers.
Enter Michael Keaton, cast against type as a cold-eyed killer who chows down on his own guts while saluting the American flag. Mitch is good, but this guy can make him better.
So there you have it – a stock-standard revenge tale set against the backdrop of global terror? Standard running and gunning?
Well, not quite. Mitch also suffers from sloppy impulse control, and a tendency to back his own judgement, deviate from the mission, and disregard orders he doesn’t like.
And that, people, is what separates us from them.
Clearly intended to be the next Bourne franchise, it’s truly not quite in that league – but it’s damn close.
Dylan O’Brien is all plumb growed up as Rapp, and Taylor Kitsch is the evil terrorist mastermind behind it all. Just add a loose nuke floating around, and stir.
The American Assassin might well be the new kid on the block. But I like the boy’s hustle.
– Jason Beck
