Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien – Deepwater Horizon, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials) pushes himself to become a one-man counter terrorism team, after a terrible family tragedy befalls him. Pushing himself, and landing up on the wrong side of the American Government, he is approached by Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan – Now You See Me 2), seeking to recruit him.
Mitch is thrown into the deep end, he comes up against cold war veteran, and black ops trainer, Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton – Minions, Need for Speed). He needs to put aside the trauma of his past, if he is to survive and get the revenge he so desperately seeks.
American Assassin plays on the fear of the day, with terrorists being in the news on an almost daily basis. There is enough action to sate most audience members, and the throwback to times of the cold war will appease the slightly older audience.
The action is fast paced, yet not over-done with effects, keeping things grounded in reality, and plausibility. This helps the dramatic side of the story to shine through, even with a plot that is relatively straight forward, yet still manages to take the audience on a tour of several locations around the globe.
WIth American Assassin being one of fifteen novels by author Vince Flynn, we can be sure there will be more outings such as this, with this film delivering a joyride of action and intrigue, as we are introduced to the characters, and their world.
A fun film, for action and spy fans, American Assassin opens 15 September 2017 in South African cinemas.