American Assassin

Over recent years, we have seen so many terrorist attacks in Europe. It seems that we never will know, when terrorists will strike. It can happen anywhere, on public places, in any city. And one day, i especially will never forget, is April 7 this year in Stockholm. A terrorist attack on civilians when a truck drove straight into a crowd of people, killing 5 people and injured 14 people. The man who was pointed out as the man behind this act of evil, was Rakhmat Akilov. I really hope this man will never be let out of prison, he should be locked up for the rest of his life. I have to say, i was so proud to see the city of Stockholm united, after the terrorist attack. That people were there for each other, that everyone took care of each other. This is exactly what we need in difficult times, when tragedy strikes. Hopefully, terrorists will be defeated, no matter what needs to be done. No one should be a victim in public places of these savages. Terrorists in films have been made in many different formats and shapes. One of the biggest classics ( if you ask me ) has to be the 1986 film The Delta Force with Chuck Norris. A film that may have grown old, but as an action film, it still holds up even today. There was something special about seeing Chuck Norris taking down terrorists, with his Delta Force team. 19 years later, a similar film was released, called Executive Decision, with Kurt Russel, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, David Suchet and Steven Seagal ( in a role where he at least is not all terrible ). What made Executive Decision work, was because of the great cast, and the way director Stuart Baird constructed the film, to make it seem like a professional U.S. Army Special Forces operation, and it felt realistic ( for the most part ). Both of these films should be seen, if you love to see terrorists being taken out. In recent years, i would say that one of the highlights of films, where terrorism is the main subject, has to be Leonardo Di Caprio´s really well made film Body Of Lies, by legendary director Ridley Scott. A really effective action thriller, where both Leonardo Di Caprio and Russel Crowe deliver solid performances, and director Ridley Scott knows how to construct a film on terrorist issues. During early April this year, i got to see a trailer of a film called American Assassin. A new action film, where the main mission is to take down terrorists ? Very original idea...not really. But i decided to give this film a chance, because of the interesting cast list. Do we have an action film that is guaranteed to please the audience, or is American Assassin doomed to fail, from start to finish ?

Mitch Rapp ( Dylan O´Brien ) is on vacation with his girlfriend in Ibiza, Spain. Suddenly, a boat of terrorists enter the beach, and start killing everyone, including Mitch´s girlfriend. 18 months later, Mitch lives day and night, to track down terrorists online in forums, so he can get in contact with the men behind this slaughter. He manage to find the target, that he have been searching for, and arrange a meeting. His plan is to take down the terrorists on his own, but that plan fails, when the location is stormed with U.S. Special Forces, who wipes them all out. They take Mitch with them for questioning in a CIA safe house, for 30 days of debriefing. They know he is a skilled fighter, and knows he can handle weapons. So they make a suggestion, to let him be trained by former U.S. Navy Seal Stan Hurley ( Michael Keaton ), who is an expert on how to handle terrorists. If Mitch is good enough in the training program, he will be a part of the team. Words comes down through intelligence channels, that weapons grade nuclear material have gone missing from a decommissioned Russian nuclear facility. Mitch and his team have no other option, they need to act now, before time is running out.

If you only love very intelligent drama films, you might as well stop reading here. American Assassin is not for fans of Woody Allen, i can guarantee you that. However, if you just want to see a pure action terrorist film, with very patriotic messages, then you might actually have fun with this film. This is in no way a very intelligent action film, but that is not the point. This is the kind of action film, that is made for a certain type of audience. Especially for those who loves lots of guns, fighting, explosions, and no cheesy romantic scenes ( except for one in the beginning, but it only last very short ). American Assassin is in many ways a very typical action movie, where you find all the typical cliches. With that said, i still had some fun with this film and i will tell you why. Since i have always loved action films, i don´t need to have a complicated plot, as long as the action scenes deliver. And this is something i feel that this film does. Not all the time, but there are some highlights. Once the film really start to get speed, and get into the terrorist hunt, you have no problem not getting bored. Lead actor Dylan O´ Brien, ( who most of you probably know from The Maze Runner films ), may not be the greatest action cinema character, but he works pretty good for this specific film. He must have trained a lot for this role, since he seems to be in good health condition. I can´t say that he does his character very good, from an acting perspective. However, it is in the action scenes where he function best. Michael Keaton is the highlight of this film. His character Stan Hurley, is exactly what this film needed. A character that stands out, who will get his message out, loud and clear. Nice to see legendary actor David Suchet here, who unfortunately does not get a lot of screen time. Scott Adkins is also in here, and he is actually a part of the team. Even if American Assassin looks exactly as many typical terrorist films, you can at least enjoy the film for the moment. No big surprises, just violence and shootings, perfect for a sunday tee afternoon in the garden. I saw that the film just opened in Germany last weekend, so go ahead Germans, run to the cinema and see American Assassin, or if you still got a chance to see it in cinemas worldwide. Sometimes, we need a dumb action film to fill our minds, to forget that Colin Nutley films actually does exists.

Rating: DDD