User reviews

After reading a few of the negative comments, I was apprehensive about seeing this movie. Glad I trusted my instincts and the previews. Let me make this very simple, as most other reviewers already provide you with a movie synopsis. If you enjoy movies like Die Hard, Jason Bourne, John Wick, Taken, etc. - you'll enjoy this movie. I do enjoy those movies, and I did enjoy this movie. It is exactly what it sets out to be, an entertaining action flick.

This movie has been sitting on my unwatched shelf for quite a while and yesterday I finally got around to watch it.

I actually found this movie to be not too bad actually. It is far from a cinematic masterpiece but it is a pretty solid action/revenge movie. Dylan O'Brien is, unfortunately, pretty meh as the main character. Michael Keaton on the other hand is quite good in his character.

It is a reasonably action filled movie and I really like that they didn't try to turn it into some PG-13 crap. It is sometimes fairly brutal. The story is okay. It works. It is not overly complex and some people are probably moaning about it not being original enough. Well, I say, so what? It is a good concept so why screw with it? I do like revenge movies and although this one is far from the best, it is not at all shabby.

I wonder why some people seems to be claiming that this movie is just crap, one star out of ten and so on and so forth? Is it maybe because it dares bring up the subject of Islamist fanatics killing innocents? Or maybe because it doesn't try to sugarcoat things and explain these "poor misunderstood" psychopaths but lays the blame straight on said lowlife as well as on Iran? Or maybe because it doesn't try to blame certain of today's' preferred boogieman Russia?

I have not read the book so I guess, if it doesn't do the book justice, I can somewhat understand not liking it. However, to me, this was a decent, not spectacular but decent, two hours of entertainment. Decent action, decent speed and (with the exception of O'Brien) decent acting.

This movie was probably very fresh back in 2017 when it was released. The two younger stars did a pretty good job and it was a sort of showcase of future more mature action or hero roles, if they wanted it. The maiming and gunshots and other forms of violence were more realistic than I normally see. It is a simple plot, yes. Have we seen movies like this before? Yes. But so what. It was a good weekend movie with popcorn and surround sound. Keaton did a good job. It's hard because you recognize him and remember his other famous parts, but that soon dissipated. This was a decent tight film that accomplished what it set out to do.

'AMERICAN ASSASSIN': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new spy thriller based on author Vince Flynn's 2010 novel (of the same name), which is part of a popular spy book series. It stars Dylan O'Brien as a 23-year-old that obsessively wants revenge for the death of his girlfriend, in a terrorist attack, and is recruited by the CIA (as part of their black ops program). He's trained by a Cold War veteran played by Michael Keaton. The movie also costars Taylor Kitsch, Shiva Negar and Sanna Lathan. It was directed by Michael Cuesta (who also helmed 2014's 'KILL THE MESSNEGER') and it was written by Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Marshall Herskovitz and director Edward Zwick (who was originally set to direct the film as well). It's gotten mixed reviews from critics, and it's also a mild hit at the Box Office as well. The film starts out promising, but later it becomes pretty routine and forgettable.

Mitch Rapp (O'Brien) lost his parents in a car crash when he was 14. At 23 he's just found happiness again, after proposing to his girlfriend on a beach (and she accepts), but then his new fiancé is murdered in a terrorist attack in front of him (at that same moment). Rapp desperately wants revenge, and he obsessively trains (and plans) for it. The CIA becomes worried about his mental well being though, after tracking him, but instead of detaining Rapp, they recruit him. He's then trained by a Cold War veteran, named Stan Hurley (Keaton), and his first mission is to stop an old trainee of Hurley's (Kitsch), who's a lot like Rapp, from starting another world war in the Middle East.

The opening scene of the movie is really intense, violent and engaging. After that, the origin story of Mitch Rapp is still pretty cool and involving, but then (about half way through the film) it starts to feel really routine and somewhat boring. The action scenes are all still decent, throughout the film, but the story just loses your interest. Still, it could be a decent setup for a spy movie franchise (like they're hoping it is), and I definitely have no problems with Dylan O'Brien or the rest of the cast.

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You have your average whiners on here complaining because it wasn't like the book. But this is a solid action flick.

American Assassin had all you could hope for from a spy film. The acting was good, the fight scenes were realistic, great action through the whole movie and a decent story line. Dylan O'Brien and Micheal Keaton wouldn't be my A-team for a spy film, but they played their roles well. Still not on the level of the Bourne Series, 007 and Mission Impossible. But still a good spy flick. Will be on the lookout for a sequel.

First, I don't believe that the casting director read any of Vince Flynn's books in preparation for casting this movie. Dylan O'Brien as Mitch Rapp, Michael Keaton as Stan Hurley, and Sanaa Lathan as Irene Kennedy? The movie is terribly miscast. Second, I wish Hollywood would stop appropriating the title of a book for a movie when the screenplay so poorly reflects the book's plot and content.

Better than many reviewers indicate.

American Assassin follows Author Vince Flynn's character Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) and his mentor Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) who leads a super secret CIA operative group tasked to take out the world's most threatening bad guys - A secret camp in the wooded hills near Roanoke, Virginia provides a select group of hand-picked field operatives (assassins) with elite specialized training (for assassins) that supposedly exceeds Navy Seals training in sophistication of infiltrating and blending into targeted zones, with a killing effectiveness that surpasses Bourne and Bond.

One problem here - when you take on two of the most successful action franchises in movie history (Bourne and Bond), you better have your ducks in a row (including most importantly the script), and that is where this film fails.

The screenwriter needed to produce a more cohesive script in adapting Flynn's prequel book. The film looks and sounds like it was rushed to production before the script and story boards were thought through and revised.

Time is money, but not investing enough time sometimes leads to losing your entire investment, and if the desired outcome was a green light for a franchise, the "fail" here was in the script.

Michael Keaton holds this film up, and although I have a hard time seeing him in the role, he pulled it off with his trade-mark push-the-envelope edginess.

O'Brien was at first, hard to swallow in the role with his quiet vulnerable demeanor and school age heartthrob looks (with some edgy outlier undertones) that have made him so popular with millennials. But he frankly did an admirable job, and is the most promising element of the film in terms of franchising this into sequels. Not many lines of dialogue, but like Bourne, Rapp speaks loudly with his fists, feet, intelligence, wiliness, and willingness.

The make-up was amazing in portraying an ever growing number of cuts, bruises, gashes, and other assorted traumas accrued by the cast - realistic, accurate and impressive - among the best ever in film.

Action/fight/vehicle chase scenes were well above par as were the special effects and CGI (only one scene leans fully on CGI and was well done).

Cinematography and editing are very good, and the pacing of the film is excellent for the most part.

My guess is this is a one and done film, but what a shame, as there is great potential for an American Assassin franchise, and this is one if the best recent additions to the action genre, especially given more time to complete the film at a 007 level.

The director and screenwriter(s) need to get it together though, IF there is a sequel - the script is the weakest point, usually a death nail for my reviews, but the director, cinematographer, make-up, and fx make up a lot of ground in that regard.

For the hope of more (and better), I'm giving one additional Star bringing this 7-Star film up to 8/10.

If they would just make the Mitch Rapp series into movies, they could make Atleast 22 movies. Probably more and if done right, they could make A LOT of money!!! It's an amazing series. This movie was good but doesn't do the book justice!! Will someone please take this seriously as a screen play??!!! Lol.

They characters in the books have so much depth and so much back story. You could make a whole universe about it. It would rival the extraction series with Chris Hemsworth. If you like a good read, then I suggest you read how Rapp consistently powers his way through Americas enemies while taking out corrupt politicians along the way!! I mean Claudia Gold could be played by Gal Gadot. Irene Kennedy by Tessa Thompson or Shuri from Black panther. Rapp is a toss up. Only a few people could be chosen to play him. Dylan O brien did a good job though!! Come on!! Make it happen!!

Only good thing to say was the production values. Keaton cashed in on a film beneath him. Hollywood wasted another book which could easily have been scripted far better, and been the basis of sequels.

Apparently all that is needed to find an international terrorist cell is hang around outside their bank. And then allow a hormone driven nearly man to punch anyone he wants and they spill the beans. Pathetic

Another grown up not going to the cinema for a while now. There is little else to add.

Books are NOT movies. This needs to be said over and over, because there is always a cabal of complainers who hate any movie that doesn't faithfully follow its hardcover source. I haven't read Vince Flynn's American Assassin, and I don't intend to. But I feel fairly confident that he wasn't writing a movie. American Assassin (the movie) is a film-telling of the original story; it is NOT the original story, and it doesn't pretend to be. (Memo to Vince Flynn fanatics: Don't go see it.) American Assassin is a terrific watch, if for no other reason than seeing Dylan O'Brien nail it. And he is well aided by his supporting cast, most especially Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch and Saana Lathan. (I would like to have included Shiva Negar, but her character is severely compromised by problematic writing. She did the best she could with what she was given.) The script is larded with clichés, but for the most part the actors make good use of them. Director Michael Cuesta keeps it all moving right along. Most of the characters are very thinly drawn, leaving the actors to flesh them out as best they can. The special effects range from absent entirely to overdone. The script itself lurches from event to event, with an ending that goes beyond credulity. None of this matters. Dylan O'Brien is on screen ninety percent of the time, and his character is spot on. He is totally in command, and his charisma is entirely in charge. For a movie such as American Assassin, that's what it is all about.

The movie wasn't bad, but if you're looking for a movie version of the book, you're going to be disappointed. This wasn't even remotely close to the book. In fact, the only thing that did follow the book was that there was a Mitch, Thomas, Stan, and Irene.

The movie went by really quickly, and the whole thing felt rushed. I think they might have done a better job if it was a 3 hour movie.

I think the greatest success of the film was the casting. Dylan O'Brien looks like the younger brother of Taylor Kitsch and landing Michael Keaton was a great accomplishment for a movie this banal. Other than that, the same old cliches of the temerarious young recruit who is good at everything and puts his heart where his mouth is, the hardcore American secret agent who is orders of magnitude better than any other secret agent, the righteous cause of the American (secret squad of trained killers with no oversight) and the happy ending where good defeats the evil and, do not forget, the evil Iranians and the necessary need to kill as many of them as possible.

The action was good, even if stretching the suspension of disbelief, the acting was good, but the script was really mediocre. Everything is done by the numbers and there is nothing that separates this film from any other of the genre from the last 30 years or more. Shut off your brain, enjoy the pointless close quarters combat and you might like it. Think just a tad about how the film started and you will see how the entire story (and characterization, tiny as it was) unravel.

This isn't a great action film, but it is good. It's got good/bad guys and bad/good guys. There's even a good/bad/good girl. Good fight scenes, car chases, nuclear bombs, betrayals, and all the rest you'd expect. The direction is taut. Michael Keaton is surprisingly good in his role. Dylan O'Brien needs some seasoning but Taylor Kitsch gives another good performance.

Cliché after cliché. Good start, with very good intrigue, but bad finish. The savior doesn't follow orders and because of that he saves the people. Great! Never seen that before! The movie tries a plot twist but predictable. Save your pocket.

The scenes in Turkey were rather cringy. I still wonder what the hell the constables were doing in the middle of a metropolis and why they spoke Turkish with an accent. Suprised not to have seen any ice cream vendors with a fez, though. It would really go with the art director's ignorance.

American Assassin is an action/thriller filled with espionage, intrigue and plenty of action. Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner and MTV's Teen Wolf) plays C.I.A. trainee Mitch Rapp. You'll be amazed at the transformation of O'Brien as he buffs up to play the stone cold killer in American Assassin. The movie is based on the best selling novels of Vince Flynn and directed by Michael Cuesta, who also directs the TV series Homeland.

O'Brien's character, Mitch Rapp, becomes a lone wolf who is obsessed with revenge after terrorists kill his girlfriend while they are on vacation on a small island in the Mediterranean. He trains for a year in MMA and with weapons. He is so ruthless that he is kicked out of both his martial arts class and his weapons training class. His plans are to pose as an American who is sympathetic to the cause of Isis so he can get near enough to kill members of their terrorist cells.

While he's making his plans he also being watched by the C.I.A. and they extract him from his first mission in Libya and offer him a chance to be a part of a super secret and elite black ops team. Sanaa Lathan plays Irene Kennedy, a C.I.A. Deputy Director who is in charge of the black ops team and Michael Keaton (who looks fantastic at age 66) is a former Navy Seal who's in charge of training the team. As an ensemble the actors make for a very entertaining movie.

Keaton and his team travel all over the world to stop a terrorist plot between Russia and Iran to build a nuclear weapon. On the mission the team discovers a former black ops team member, only known as "Ghost", who is now a mercenary and is brokering the deal between the two countries. "Ghost", played by Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) is a former protegee of Keaton who's now seeking revenge against his former mentor and against The United States, a country who he feels betrayed him.

While the cast is strong, it's O'Brien who carries the movie. He's on par with any former actor who's played James Bond except, unlike the Bond characters, he doesn't play his part with any humor or sarcasm. He plays it full out serious. He's a man obsessed with violence and killing, which makes for a very bloody and intense movie.

American Assassin is rated a very strong "R" for violence and it has a run time of 1 hour and 51 minutes. It will keep you enthralled and on the edge of your seat from start to finish. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate American Assassin a JUMBO.

Hollywood Hernandez

Whether you enjoy American Assassin or not will most likely depend on what kind of film you are expecting. If you are expecting a thriller with a complex plot and characters in the vein of the Bourne series then you are probably going to be disappointed. However, if you are looking for an espionage action film that delivers when it comes to decent action sequences, you'll probably have a good time.

American Assassin isn't anything anything that you haven't seen before. It's generic, predictable, and not particularly inspired. The plot is one of the most predictable I've seen in a film in quite some time where every twist is seen coming from a mile away. The climax even revolves around the old trope of our heroes trying to stop a nuclear- type weapon from killing a bunch of people. However, what makes the film work more than it doesn't is that it delivers when it comes to providing some above-average high-octane action sequences. There are a few moments of shaky-cam here and there, but most of the scenes are rather well-choreographed for a film of this caliber, especially the opening sequence which is done in the style of a single shot. The film also takes full advantage of it's R-rating displaying plenty of brutal and bloody violence including a particular torture scene that even had me wincing.

Dylan O'Brien is fine in the lead role, but I personally don't feel like his character was given a lot to work with emotionally or depth beyond his motivation. The true star of the film is Michael Keaton who steals every scene he's in and providing some truly laugh-out-loud moments of comic relief. If it wasn't for him, the film honestly wouldn't have been quiet as enjoyable as it was. On a side note, Taylor Kitsch who i'm personally not a fan of did a decent job as the films villain.

While it's certainly a run-of-the-mill action espionage thriller, American Assassin has enough to make it worth checking out if you are a fan of the genre thanks to solid action scenes and a great performance from Michael Keaton, although fans of the novels and those looking for a film with more depth will probably be disappointed.