First Take: American Assassin- brutally honest

SYPNOSIS: A story centered on counterterrorism agent Mitch
Rapp.

This film has been attracting a lot of attention from the
press over the last few weeks- usually a telltale sign of the quality of a
film. But Michael Cuesta’s adaptation of Vince Flynn’s 2010 novel starts very
strong, but eventually becomes so far fetched that I honestly questioned the
ending.

Cuesta does do a good job directing the 1 hour 51 minute
film we have here, but in some sequences towards the final act, the pacing is
questionable, and it does deter from full enjoyment of what can only be
described as scenes worthy of the 18 certificate the BBFC have bestowed upon
this release. The script comes from Stephen Schiff and Michael Finch, working
alongside the team who brought us Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Ed Zwick and
Marshall Herskovitz)- and the end result is good, but lacking in the depth I
was expecting. But the technical talent is rather slick- Enrique Chediak’s cinematography was used pretty damn well throughout, and Steven Price provides a very modern sort of score for the events on screen.

Performance wise, it’s all about Dylan O’Brien. He is a very
likable lead, and for many audiences, this will be the first time his talent is
on show- and working with Michael Keaton for most of the film, this is truly
his welcoming party. The supporting cast are good too, with David Suchet, Shiva Negar, Sanaa
Lathan and Charlotte Vega amongst others. It may not be the best film out at
the minute, but for action fans, there’s a lot of good stuff on offer- but it
doesn’t feel unique.

THE VERDICT

With some decent action, a very frenetic sense of pacing and
some performances that save it from the depths of a full on rant, American
Assassin is a good enough film for what it ultimately is- a budget Bourne. Not necessarily a bad thing, but in many ways, the film underwhelmed.

RATING: 3/5