Darren (1599 KP) rated American Assassin (2017) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
When Kennedy arranges to save Mitch from a certain death, she recruits him for a special section of the CIA working under Stan Hurley (Keaton) who trains agents to go undercover but if caught or killed no one will come for them.
The first mission is to locate nuclear weapon components before former agent Ghost (Kitsch) can use or sell them giving somebody in the world a nuclear bomb that can wipe out millions.
Thoughts on American Assassin
Characters – Mitch Rapp is an American that loses everything at the hands of terrorists, he learns combat and language skills to go undercover in the terrorist cell for revenge, he gets recruited by the CIA where he must learn discipline but this is where he struggles because he always wants to go after the criminal. This character does feel like a young Jack Bauer because of his rule breaking attitude for the right reasons. Stan Hurley is the off the grid trainer who takes Mitch as part of his unit, he gets tired of the Mitch’s lack of discipline but knows he needs him to capture his former student. Irene Kennedy is the deputy director of the CIA, she sees the potential in Mitch forcing Hurley to take him on, but also falls into the standard CIA director figure that will risk their reputation to prove others wrong. Ghost is the former trainee of Hurley that is using all the skills gained to stay one step ahead of him while collecting the nuclear components.
Performances – Dylan O’Brien is an actor that got into the young adult films but this role showed an adult character, showing he could go onto action films without looking like the complete actions star. Michael Keaton looks like he did enjoy the mentoring role while also getting the action role he isn’t known for. Sanaa Lathan is good in her role even if the character is very generic. Taylor Kitsch does seem to be on the recovering his career tour showing everyone just how talented he is in the villainous role.
Story – The story does play out like an origin story for Mitch Rapp in the CIA, we see what motivated him to accept the offer, we see what makes him different from other potential agents. We have the standard level of threat, potential nuclear weapon and a story of needing to learn discipline to become a top agent while keeping his unique traits. This is an easy to watch but could easily be an over the top pilot for a television show.
Action/Thriller – The action starts out brutal with the terrorist attack, we also fall into the car chases, fights and shoot outs which are fun to watch, the final action sequences is just popcorn wow.
Settings – The settings take us on a tour of Europe which is fine and is giving us an iconic location moment, which is easy to locate for us.
Special Effects – The effects in the opening sequence are brutal but then it just becomes by the book stuff.
Scene of the Movie – Speed Boat fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – While it started with violent level, it did turn into Jack Bauer origin feeling.
Chances of Sequel: Easily could have one.
Post Credits Scene: No
Final Thoughts – This is an action film that is fun but not one of the greatest of the year.
Overall: Fun action packed blast.
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/17/american-assassin-2017/
Zero Fail
Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "This is one of those books that will go down as the seminal work--the...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated First Man (2018) in Movies
Aug 16, 2019
Visually this film looks brilliant, the space scenes especially look great. It also has a very good cast, although unsurprisingly most appear to have been sidelined in favour of Ryan Gosling who is pretty average at best. This film may have been slightly more enjoyable had they gotten someone a little more charismatic in the lead role. I'm just very thankful for Corey Stoll as Aldrin for putting a little life into this! The main problem though is that it is far too long, drawn out and melodramatic, and spends too much time on the earth scenes and build up. They could have easily cut a lot of this out, speed up the pace and knock half an hour off the runtime without any noticeable issues. It isn't really helped though by the fact that we all know how this story turns out (spoiler - he walks on the moon at the end), so there's little suspense or tension and makes for rather a dull film.
I think I found the informative videos made for tourists to watch at Kennedy Space Center more entertaining than this film.
The Astronaut Wives Club
6.7
Rate It
Book
As American astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the...
The Idiot Boy
Book
Bob Turney must be the first 'dunce'-and from the wrong side of the tracks-to win a debate at the...
Between Dreams: Difficult Paths and Dangerous Places
Book
Steve Harvey was in the same class at school as Sting in the sixties, on 'the Fringe' with Liam...
Building: Letters 1960-1975
6.0
Rate It
Book
In the period covered here (1960-75) Isaiah Berlin creates Wolfson College, Oxford; John F. Kennedy...
Dean Acheson and the Obligations of Power
Book
Dean Acheson was the most influential American diplomat of the twentieth century. He shaped the...
A Family Chosen (Volume 2): The Protectors and Barrettis
10.0
Rate It
Book
Since all of my series cross over with one another, I've gotten many requests to bundle my...