Dylan O’Brien Michael Keaton Sanaa Lathan Taylor Kitsch Shiva Negan
This is a thriller about international intrigue
involving the CIA and black ops, Mossad, the Iranians, the Israelis, and a
nuclear device, taking place in Malta, Romania, Warsaw, Tripoli, Istanbul, and
Rome—all lovely places to visit, but except for a scene here and there, we
won’t see much. The story is set
up with young Mitch Rapp (O’Brien) and his girlfriend (Charlotte Vega) on a
beautiful beach on Ibiza enjoying tender moments, when they are attacked by
Muslim terrorists. This affects
Mitch so profoundly, he signs up to be a black-ops recruit under the tutelage
of Stan Hurley (Keaton). Mitch
already has an oppositional streak, which will sometimes serve him well, and
sometimes undermine him. He is
expected to get this under control in his training.
Mitch’s recruiter, Irene Kennedy (Lathan)
regards him as a prodigy, but Rapp is reluctant on the basis of Mitch’s
psychological characteristics.
After rigorous training and a practice run or two, Hurley decides Mitch
is ready and takes him into the field.
You know this is a movie when Mitch repeatedly goes against orders and
still saves the day. The most
critical operation is one where a rogue agent called “Ghost” (Kitsch), a former
star pupil of Hurley’s, collaborates with Iranians in Poland to construct a
nuclear weapon. The rest of the
story is about the CIA’s attempts first to retrieve stolen plutonium, and then
to sabotage efforts to make a bomb.
The film is fast-paced under the watchful eye
of Director Michael Cuesta, whose experience as a producer/director has been
primarily in television, but succeeds here too. Cinematographer Enrique Chediak follows the action and fight
sequences so well it’s always clear what is happening—unlike in many action
films. Dylan O’Brien is believable
as a fresh-faced green recruit bursting to make his mark, and of course, Keaton
is a perfect foil for him. I did
not find Taylor Kitsch to be as formidable and evil as I think he was supposed
to be, which diluted the impact of some key scenes.
My problem with action thrillers is that they
are so filled with preposterous successes that I’m left cold. In American
Assassin, at one point, a character asks Mitch how he has survived so many
close calls, then derides him if he thinks he’s special and deserving of
sympathy. All during the film,
Mitch is amidst of all kinds of dangers, but somehow he comes out ahead, and the last
scene shows that this is an origin story with sequels to come. At least this one was more clever than
most.
Take a ride on the black-ops special to
see intrigue, bloody torturous encounters, and occasional humor.
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