American Assassin Review

[WillBrink]

Based on the books by Vince Flynn (RIP), a series I read from book one until the authors death. Yes, to use a cliche, the book(s) was better. This movie has all the right ingredients to be a first class thriller that did the book justice, but those ingredients never fully come together to make a great movie. It's not a bad movie, but the casting for the main characters is weak, no character development to speak of, plot holes and or a few too many eye rolling moments for me, and you end up with something on par with the other series based on a popular books, the Bourne series. Not bad movies, just not great movies. Realistic violence that add to a movie is fine, but it seems the new trend is simply gratuitous violence to the point it just detracts from the movie. American Assassin is sort of Bourne meets Wick, and like them, predictable all the way with blood and brain parts, etc too often. If you wanna get your action movie on, American Assassin is fun to watch and visually striking, but you wont be thinking about it the next day. I will say the trailer is great and makes it seem like it will be a far better movie. B-

[ABNAK]

I haven't read any of the books but I thought the movie was pretty cool.

[WillBrink]

I haven't read any of the books but I thought the movie was pretty cool.

Anything in the B rating area is worth a watch in my view, but I didn't find it a stand out in the genre, and I don't think that would change if I had not read the books. Grabbing the blade of a knife in full swing as his "signature" move, which saves the day while he's getting his ass kicked on the boat, knives that seemed to be in a fight scene then disappear (where at least I didn't see how he'd disarmed them), that they (apparently) got their people ready by training in combat (virtual training scene was lame I thought...), and not a damn bit of spy craft, etc, etc. Chick blowing her own brains out for dramatic effect, that just really had no value to the movie, plot, etc. Seen far worse to be sure, but seen far better I thought.

[austinN4]

DVD from Netflix coming today so I will watch it this weekend.

Interesting thing about the books is that American Assassin, event wise, is the 1st book in the series but was actually written 10th in 2010. Flynn wrote the actual first book in 1999 but he later figured out the series would be better if there was background on how Rapp became an assassin in the first place:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/40589-mitch-rapp

[WillBrink]

DVD from Netflix coming today so I will watch it this weekend.

Interesting thing about the books is that American Assassin, event wise, is the 1st book in the series but was actually written 10th in 2010. Flynn wrote the actual first book in 1999 but he later figured out the series would be better if there was background on how Rapp became an assassin in the first place:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/40589-mitch-rapp

Not an uncommon strategy really. Start with the fun stuff, fill in the details of who the dude is and why later once people give a damn. Sorta doing that with my own fiction series.

[Honu]

was curious and going to look it up see if it was worth it now I do not have to and will watch it


your reviews are fun touch to the forum thanks !

[Firefly]

I'm glad this passed me by.

Just like Jason Bourne, The Recruit and countless, countless other movies where a troubled, but intelligent young man with non-threatening good looks gets taken in by the CIA and ends up being some badass.

I already saw it with Rambo where he was played by a middle aged man who looked like he juiced and lifted everyday and was given a backstory of having been in an SOG unit in one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century. I could suspend disbelief.

But some dude who looks like the guy from an H&M catalogue just puts me off.

They need to go back to finding dudes who look like they came outta tge game Contra for action movies and NOT Vin Diesel or The Rock. Both are played out.

I'm tired of 5'9" guys who look queer being in action movies killing up the same generic Russians.

So I shall patiently wait for Strike Back

[ABNAK]

I'm glad this passed me by.

Just like Jason Bourne, The Recruit and countless, countless other movies where a troubled, but intelligent young man with non-threatening good looks gets taken in by the CIA and ends up being some badass.

I already saw it with Rambo where he was played by a middle aged man who looked like he juiced and lifted everyday and was given a backstory of having been in an SOG unit in one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century. I could suspend disbelief.

But some dude who looks like the guy from an H&M catalogue just puts me off.

They need to go back to finding dudes who look like they came outta tge game Contra for action movies and NOT Vin Diesel or The Rock. Both are played out.

I'm tired of 5'9" guys who look queer being in action movies killing up the same generic Russians.

So I shall patiently wait for Strike Back

Ain't that odd? Despite the past 16 years (and actually many before that) I don't recall a lot of Neo-Nazi or Russian terror attacks. Not that those entites are on my "best buds" list or anything but very strange how it's never an Islamofascist terror group depicted. Gee, I'm stumped......

[WillBrink]

Ain't that odd? Despite the past 16 years (and actually many before that) I don't recall a lot of Neo-Nazi or Russian terror attacks. Not that those entites are on my "best buds" list or anything but very strange how it's never an Islamofascist terror group depicted. Gee, I'm stumped......

This movie at least has Iranians as the bad guys, with a twist, which is a lame twist.

[Firefly]

Ain't that odd? Despite the past 16 years (and actually many before that) I don't recall a lot of Neo-Nazi or Russian terror attacks. Not that those entites are on my "best buds" list or anything but very strange how it's never an Islamofascist terror group depicted. Gee, I'm stumped......

Curious indeed.

Actually it was a month or so ago I saw Delta Force 3 where the Delta Force (minus Chuck Noris) and the Spetsnaz teamed up to waste Iranian terries.

It was Israel-sploitation Canon films but they had real AKs and Galils and I still get a kick out of that one part where dude tosses his knife to the Delta Force guy and he stabs the dudes foot to the pressure pad for the bomb then the Russian Makarovs him in the head.

"Nice throw"

and the Soviet pornstache captain goes

"Nice catch" and gives a thumbs up.

ROLL CREDITS

Yep the 80s had the most fun movies.