Asesino: misión venganza

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.

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!!

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.

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.

'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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