Review: American Assassin

Preposterous and derivative yet slick and reasonably satisfying, American Assassin does (further) prove three things to be true: director Michael Cuesta's skill at staging impressive set pieces, Dylan O'Brien's viability as a leading man, and that Michael Keaton is an invaluable asset to any film in which he appears.

Based on the first book in the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn, the political action thriller begins on the sandy beaches of Spain where Mitch (O'Brien) is holidaying with his girlfriend Katrina (Charlotte Vega). Minutes after he proposes, the beach is overrun by machine gun-toting Muslim terrorists who leave the resort and sands with bloodied corpses, including Katrina's. Eighteen months later, haunted by grief and driven by vengeance, Mitch has taken matters into his own hands, honing himself into a killing machine well-versed in marksmanship and martial arts so he can infiltrate the terrorist cell responsible for Katrina's death. What Mitch doesn't realise is that his pursuits have caught the eye of CIA counterterrorism chief Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan), who has been surveilling him for six months.

Irene believes that Mitch is a perfect candidate for an elite black-ops team codenamed Orion, though CIA director Thomas Stansfield (David Suchet) is concerned over Mitch's recklessness, non-compliance, and psychological profile. Those same qualities pique the interest of Stan Hurley (Keaton), the ex-Navy SEAL who heads up Orion and who served in combat with Irene's father. Put through various training scenarios, Mitch displays a disregard that is both admirable and deadly such as when he allows himself to be repeatedly electroshocked during a VR training run because he lets himself be ruled by his emotions. "Never let it get personal," barks Stan as they set off for Mitch's first mission, which involves tracking down some weapons grade plutonium that is sure to land in some very wrong hands.

It's no surprise that not only do things get very personal for Mitch, but they also get mighty personal for Stan, who discovers that a former protege he believed to be dead is very much alive and now working as a mercenary by the name of Ghost (Taylor Kitsch). Screenwriters Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz don't do enough to either exploit or explore the dynamics between Mitch and Stan, Stan and Ghost, and Ghost and Mitch. These are the best, most engaging moments of American Assassin and are filled with personal and political provocations that are never more than superficially touched upon. The inevitable face-to-face confrontation between Stan and Ghost, for example, is made all the more riveting because of the emotional beats that both Keaton and Kitsch provide.

Nevertheless, the film's shortcomings don't deter from the overall enjoyment of the film. Lathan and Shiva Negar (as a Turkish agent) provide excellent support and Cuesta orchestrates several nifty and thrilling action sequences with the help of Enrique Chediak's dynamic camerawork and Conrad Buff's seamless and emphatic editing. The climactic showdown is an especial highlight, with a speedboat, helicopter and the U.S. fleet amongst those in peril.

American Assassin

Directed by: Michael Cuesta

Written by: Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz; based on the novel by Vince Flynn

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, Taylor Kitsch, David Suchet, Scott Adkins, Navid Negahban