American Assassin impresses with its stunning action sequences and production values, but fails to deliver on depth of character to keep the story fresh and original.
“American Assassin follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), a CIA black-ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together, the three discover a pattern in the violence, leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on settling a personal and professional vendetta that could have cataclysmic results.”
American Assassin, adapted from the book by the same name in a series that follows the character of Mitch Rapp, caters directly to the spy-thriller fan-base that might find similarities in stories like that of Jack Reacher. We are introduced to Mitch as he vacations with his girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancé. In the middle of their celebratory engagement drink, terrorists attack the beachfront and hotel, gunning down innocent civilians and guests. In the chaos, Mitch desperately tries to reach his fiancé but gets there just in time to see her shot in front of him.
Sometime later, Mitch has transformed himself due to the horrors he witnessed that day and the pain of the loss he feels. Training every day in MMA and tactical training, Mitch is gearing up for the day he can take his revenge on the terrorist cell and leader that are responsible for her death, which finally presents itself after months of pretending to be an extremist on various chat rooms, when a member of the terror cell sets up a meeting. With a little help from the CIA who has been monitoring his activities, the terror cell has been wiped out and they offer Mitch a job with much higher stakes.
The one thing American Assassin has plenty of is action. Despite this being a somewhat lesser known release, the production value of the film is very impressive. Fight scenes are well choreographed, with a final fight scene that looks to be something straight out of Inception. Despite these impressive sequences that comprise a large portion of the film, one thing that is lacking is a comprehensive backstory to this character or any real depth besides that of revenge and pure hatred and anger. Because of this, you don’t really feel anything about the journey of the protagonist, especially since he already has received his revenge on the man who killed his fiancé, and now he focuses that hatred on all enemies of freedom. This lack of depth also blurs the characters quite a bit, especially between Mitch and the antagonist played by Taylor Kitsch. They are essentially the same person, which makes the conflict between them rather dull.
The one person that really shines in this film is of course Michael Keaton. With his recent track record of great performances, it’s no doubt he continues to give his all in even the smallest of roles. If the series is successful and spawns more stories based on the book series, I do hope that Keaton is involved, as he made the film much better as the CIA Handler of two ‘mad dog’ agents pitted against each other.
All that being said, I was actually quite surprised how much I enjoyed American Assassin going in with absolutely zero expectations. It’s a simple premise, a man decides he’s had enough of terrorists and takes it head on basically by himself. If that’s not the quintessential Rambo story I don’t know what is. What would have made it so much better would have been a little more care with the character, and a little more depth to the story. The action is there, and it is damn good, we just need a little substance to go along with it.
Video
American Assassin is presented in 4k 2160 Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.40:1. The 4k transfer of the film is absolutely gorgeous, with the HDR delivering the brilliant brights and deep darks that the film explores in abundance. There are no blemishes or defects noticed in the transfer. It’s a pretty straight forward film visually, but the action packed sequences and explosions will look fantastic in 4k.
The Blu-Ray version included in the set is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos, and of course with it having so much action in it, it requires an equally impressive sound track, and it delivers. Bullets whizzing by, explosions, punches, you name it. Everything is ramped up to eleven here that goes beautifully with the impressive visuals. The soundtrack is also impressive, delivering a powerful score that also is good accompaniment with the effects.
Special Features
This set has a few extras combined with both the 4k and Blu-Ray discs. These include:
- Target Acquired: Creating an American Assassin
- Finding Mitch Rapp: Dylan O’Brien
- Transfer of Power: Hurley and Ghost
- Weaponized: Training and Stunts
- In the Field: Locations
- Alamo Drafthouse Q&A
Although this is a very impressive action film, it misses key elements to make it a good film in general. Bringing a little more character to it could definitely make this stand on its own, and elevate it past the Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne characters. Mitch Rapp still has some source material to explore, and I’m game to dive into it if they can tweak the formula a bit more to ensure an interesting protagonist. As it stands, anyone who enjoys the spy thriller packed full of action where you can turn your brain off for a bit, will be sure to enjoy American Assassin.
