JonathanJimenez17 KatieSirles17 Reviews17 American Assassin - Review September 15, 2017 Read Mind on Movies review of AMERICAN ASSASSIN, in theaters September 15th. This is the action, spy movie we needed during the summer. R: September 15th, 2017 | R: 112 minutes | R: R Another action franchise is on the horizon as American Assassin makes its debut on the big screen. But it begs the question: do we really want another one? If the first installment in the potential series is any indication, the answer to that question is a resounding “no”. On a romantic getaway to Spain, a violent terrorist attack completely changes the life of an American man as he watches his fiancĂ©e die right before his eyes. Forever scarred by this experience, he becomes a recluse who spends his days training to fight and contacting terrorist cells in the hopes of infiltrating them to exact his revenge. These activities land him on a CIA terrorist watchlist, where one agent finds a lot of promise in his unorthodox methods. After rescuing him from near death, the CIA offers him the chance to become an agent trained by a rugged and unconventional Cold War legend. As the two begin to train and understand each other, they are called to prevent a sinister plot to build and sell a nuclear weapon to Iran. Action thrillers tend to lean on the more unbelievable, convoluted, and ridiculous side of the plot. But American Assassin somehow manages to outcompete its predecessors in ridiculousness almost to the point of parody. The plot of the film is horribly clichĂ© to the point of absurdity. Without a single hint of irony, it takes only a year and a half for the grief-stricken assassin to transform from a typical recent grad to become a fighting machine that speaks fluent Arabic, is a scholar on the Quran, and has communicated with a terrorist cell so extensively that they invite him on a weekend retreat with all their terrorist bros. All the while the film introduces a litany of one-dimensional characters whose straight- forward qualities get bashed into our heads over and over again. We get it – the main character is a rage-filled maniac who doesn’t follow orders. But somehow even as the movie shows him getting kicked out of an MMA gym for being a rage-filled maniac who doesn’t follow orders, one of the other characters then sits on screen telling us how he’s a rage-filled maniac who doesn’t follow orders. Followed by three other scenes showing him being a rage-filled maniac who doesn’t follow orders, just in case we didn’t get it yet. It’s almost impossible to think of a single character who had any deeper motivations other than the ones explicitly told to the audience. These qualities just don’t make for a compelling or interesting plot, even for a movie that is supposed to be about the action. Continue Reading... As the action starts to ramp up, everything else falls flat. The film follows the typical, unoriginal arcs expected in the genre. Things get weirdly escalated to the point where they’re secretly saving the world from a supervillain that somehow singlehandedly developed a nuclear weapon and outsmarted a rogue arm of the Iranian government. If that doesn’t sound over-the- top enough, throw in a scene where the action heroes are just casually scrolling through a list of nuclear physicists that reads “list of nuclear physicists” like it’s their tinder profile. The plot then takes us through random destinations throughout the world for no reason other than to remind us that the CIA just really doesn’t know when to stop meddling in everyone else’s business. And just to really deliver enough cheese to outcompete Kraft, the movie gives us a ten minute CGI disaster that would fit naturally in a Lifetime original movie about Mars that only exists to prove to us that the filmmakers understand literally nothing about nuclear weapons. The few redeeming aspects of American Assassin is the chemistry between the leading actors and some of the action. Surprisingly enough, the two leads overcame the script well enough offer us a fun, if not overdone, relationship. The violence in the film made me cringe at parts to the point of having to look away from the screen, but overall there was enough payoff to feel like a decent enough action movie. There was definitely an inkling of promise buried somewhere deep in there, and at times it almost felt like it could have succeeded. Although the studio had hoped American Assassin would be the next Bourne or Mission Impossible franchise, the movie is more of a bargain bin action movie that will be remembered similarly to the likes of Olympus has Fallen or Transporter 3. It offers very little in terms of originality or even a hook for a standalone film, let alone a continuing franchise. Rating: 1.5 out of 5 Johnny (Senior Contributor) was born and raised in San Diego. He's been a fan of films the majority of his life. He enjoys the feeling it invokes and the power it has to take you to another place. Click Here to check out Johnny's Articles. With the presence of real life violence at every turn, I typically turn to the movies for a dose of delusion. I like the idea that I can sit in a dark room for 2 hours and not think about the sad state of affairs that currently exists in our reality. The opening scene of this movie plays like a horrific video clip on the news and that is a disclaimer, not a spoiler. When Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) loses his brand new fiance to a terrorist attack, he dedicates his life's work to defeating them. After executing a mission to take out a powerful terrorist leader, Rapp is recruited into a program run by Cold War vet Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). Described as a beast by his own boss, CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan), Hurley will systematically weed out the weaker men in a series of tests by breaking them mentally. Rapp and one other make it through his maze of seemingly impossible tasks and are sent off to kill terrorists and chew bubble gum... and they're all out of bubble gum. Meeting with Turkish agent Annika (Shiva Negar) in Istanbul, Rapp and Hurley will try to hunt down a dangerous operative played by Taylor Kitsch before he's able to start a world war. If nothing else, this movie emphasizes the power of a beard. Without one, Dylan O'Brien looks like a member of One Direction in their heyday. What he does not look like? An assassin. So I guess he's the best assassin? Continue Reading... There is enough terrorist activity happening in our world on a daily basis, I don't need to see it on the big screen, too. This movie even reaching theaters -- especially right now -- was in poor taste and even as action movies go, it's just unnecessary. This is the movie equivalent of Taylor Swift releasing a revenge song about a black man. Now, that's not to say that everything about the movie was bad. It certainly is action packed. Michael Keaton plays a hardass, as you can probably imagine, is the height of just-too-muchery. There are some fun... surprises, as well. In short, American Assassin is more stressful than anything else. Kind of the same way that White House Down made me re-examine my moral compass. When attempts are being made on the president's life and in the midst of that, they're making slap-sticky jokes that I feel uneasy laughing about. Even though Taylor Kitsch is a total babe, I am still not endorsing this, but I'll do you one better; watch Battleship instead. It's got Taylor, it's got military stuff, it's got AC/DC (THUNDA), and it doesn't have scary terrorist activity. It's the movies -- not the news. Rating: 3 out of 5 Katie (Contributor) is a cinephile and Chicago native who has been reviewing film for nearly a decade. Her heroes include Roger Ebert and Jay Sherman -- it stinks! Click Here to check out Katie's Articles.
