I was expecting a Jason Bourne rip off but instead I was left with a riveting, gritty and action packed story, which kept me on the edge of my seat.
Adapted for the big screen from Vince Flynn’s best selling books, Michael Cuesta’s American Assassin explores the murky world of espionage and terrorism.
After Mitch Rapp’s (Dylan O’Brien) fiancé is gunned down in a terrorist attack he vows revenge.
He spends 18 months tracking down Mansur (Fahim Fazil) the man behind the attack, pretending to be a radical follower.
When he does succeed in infiltrating the terror cell, American troops kill Mansur leaving Rapp angry that he wasn’t able to exact his revenge.
Following this incident CIA director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) introduces Rapp to Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) where he begins his training as part of an elite squad called Orion.
His mission is to bring down The Ghost (Taylor Kitsch) who has acquired a large quantity of plutonium.
American Assassin is a fast paced and exciting movie but the torture scenes are not for the faint of heart.
Cuesta’s film is realistic with none of the characters safe from flying bullets and betrayal.
There is no clear-cut good versus bad, which makes each character interesting and complex, and neither is it overly patriotic as movies such as White House Down, or Olympus has Fallen are as they deal with similar themes.
The film also steers clear from political correctness, which is refreshing, and Dylan O’Brien has shed his adolescent image from his Teen Wolf days and carries the movie with steely determination.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Rated: M
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
In cinemas now
