By Sandy Cohen, AP Entertainment Writer
Mitch Rapp is an action hero in the vein of Jack Ryan or John McClane: an impossibly tough and determined everyday guy out to save the world.
Dylan O'Brien brings a youthful freshness to that archetype in "American Assassin," his first leading-man role and the first big-screen adaptation of Vince Flynn's series of Rapp novels. The character is scrappy and outspoken, rebellious and single-minded, and a skilled wielder of all manner of weapons.
But Rapp is first seen onscreen as a starry-eyed lover in Ibiza about to propose to his girlfriend. Their idyllic moment is ruined when terrorists storm the beach and Rapp's fiancée ends up among the dead.
Flash forward 18 months and Rapp is a bearded recluse in Rhode Island, where he's been studying Arabic, mastering firearms and practicing martial arts. He plans to take out the terror kingpin responsible for the Ibiza attack. But his clandestine training catches the eye of a CIA recruiter (Sanaa Lathan), who brings Rapp in as a counterterrorism operative.
From there, the story jumps around multiple international destinations as Rapp undergoes advanced training with the humorless Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) and onto a mission to recover a heap of stolen plutonium. Iranian forces intend to make a nuclear weapon to attack Israel. But an American mercenary and former student of Hurley's known as Ghost (Taylor Kitsch) is also involved, and he has his own ideas about how the plutonium should be used.
Further complicating the story are the various double-agents involved and an apparently complex yet unexplained history between Ghost and Hurley. But no matter: O'Brien is wonderful to watch, a convincing action star with perfectly tousled hair. He brings a sensitivity to Rapp that balances his brutality, making him easy to root for, even if he doesn't always follow the rules.
Keaton's Hurley is practically forgettable until a staggering scene near the film's end that shows just how crazy his character is.
As often happens with these international thrillers, plot holes are compensated for with action and spectacular settings. "American Assassin" takes viewers to Italy, Romania, Poland, Libya and Turkey, along with various locations in the U.S.
But Rapp is an interesting guy, and "American Assassin" is his origin story. Unfortunately, in setting up for a sequel, the film's ending goes too far, essentially trading Rapp's newly established gravitas for superhero shtick.
"American Assassin," a CBS Film release, is rated R for "strong violence throughout, some torture, language and brief nudity." Running time: 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More