Movie Review: "American Assassin"

"American Assassin": B+.  Since 2005 Momma Cuandito and I have been on the beaches of Bandol, France, Tulum, Mexico and Noto, Italy.  If I had seen American Assassin prior to visiting those foreign sands, we might have stayed home instead.  After you witness the opening sequence you'll know why. 

American Assassin is the first film rendering of any novel by Vince Flynn, a St. Paul native who passed away four years ago from prostate cancer at the age of forty-seven.  Although counter-terrorism/action stories are not my favorite genre of either books or films, I always enjoyed listening to Flynn's interviews with local radio host Dan Barreiro, who invited Flynn as a semi-regular guest on his show.  Flynn always came across as a down-to-earth regular guy who was smart, humble and conversant, complemented with a knack for great story telling.  Coincidentally, what prompted me to see American Assassin was another recent Barreiro interview with Dylan O'Brien who stars as Mitch Rapp, the heroic secret agent in thirteen of Flynn's thrillers, not including Mitch Rapp books written by Kyle Mills after Flynn's passing.

My first impressions of O'Brien were that he looks too young, fresh-faced and lanky to be cast as an assassin of any kind, let alone one who goes after Middle East terrorists.  Second and third impressions?  Yeah, his character can do it all: martial arts, boxing, marksmanship with all makes and models of guns, smarts, drive, hand-to-hand combat skills, strength, bravery and determination. Rapp's biggest weakness is his difficulty obeying orders from his superiors, including orders to abort a mission because of a change in circumstances which makes continuation almost suicidal.  He is bound and determined to right a terrible wrong personally suffered by him at the hands of the terrorists.  If Mitch can do so in conjunction with the CIA, fine; if he has to go it alone, that's okay too.  He's willing to play by the CIA's rules as long as it suits his purposes.  His field superior, Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), thinks he can keep the reins on Rapp, but that's wishful thinking.

Keaton is excellent playing Hurley, a middle-aged tough guy and a former Navy SEAL whose method of training agent candidates is one step short of attempted murder.  Hurley initially does not want to accept Rapp into his group because of (legitimate) concerns over Rapp's reputation for blowing off orders.  But Hurley's superior, CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy, skillfully played by the usually understated Sanaa Lathan, has studied Rapp's behavior and background to the point where she feels confident insisting Hurley take him on.

Of course when you have a good looking macho man like Rapp, it's only natural to cast a female counterpart.  Enter Annika (Shiva Negar), who is described by Deputy Director Kennedy as a CIA spy who's been working undercover in Istanbul for the last five years.  She and Mitch are often paired together in dangerous situations.  For most of the story the two of them, along with Hurley and others, are trying to intercept a supply of plutonium which has been stolen from a decommissioned nuclear facility in Russia.  The Americans fear it will end up in the hands of Iranian hardliners who have big nuclear bomb aspirations.  Following one lead after another, the search takes them to several European cities such as Warsaw, Bucharest and Rome.  No matter where they find themselves, there is danger lurking nearby.

The best way to enjoy this film is not to overthink it.  There are enough plot holes to demand a rewrite.  But this isn't a documentary; it's meant to be pure entertainment.  So, if Mitch is strapped to a chair behind enemy lines in a room full of baddies, and the CIA to that point has never been able to pinpoint exactly where that room is located, don't be surprised if a shootout occurs anyway and Mitch survives.  Director Michael Cuesta is not about to knock him off in the second act.  Each of the action scenes is staged and choreographed splendidly.  Some parts are hard to watch, such as uses of a blowtorch, pliers as a manicure tool, and waterboarding without a board.  Still, it is generally not over the top a la Quentin Tarantino films.

I read that one reason the producers chose twenty-six year old O'Brien for the lead role was that his youth would enable him to play the same character in future Rapp films.  There is an almost endless supply of material, not only because Flynn was a prolific author but also because the franchise is being continued by Mills.  The most famous film agent/double agent of all time was James Bond, a character made famous by Sean Connery who starred in seven Bond capers from 1962 to 1983.  When the first Bond movie, Dr. No, was shot in 1962, Connery was thirty-one years old.  One can imagine the young O'Brien following a similar path.  In fact, the final scene in American Assassin strongly suggests that is the plan.