AMERICAN ASSASSIN ■ The Bourne Assassination
The moderate success of Jason Bourne’s latest self-titled outing and the love of over-the-top action in JOHN WICK has paved the way for demand for a new kind of thriller. We want the twists, turns, and espionage of a BOURNE thriller, but we also want coherently shot action sequences. Fast cuts and shaky-cam might work in limited doses for lifting the intensity of a scene, but like any noticeable cinematic technique, if it’s used too frequently, it quickly loses its effect.
It’s why writer/director Christopher Nolan shifted away from the hard-to-track villains’ perspective fight scenes of BATMAN BEGINS and showcased the proper choreography with limited cuts in THE DARK KNIGHT. Bourne never let up on the shaky-cam, and it’s suffered for it. So, what has all of this got to do with AMERICAN ASSASSIN? Well, AMERICAN ASSASSIN is basically your new BOURNE series. It’s the kind of thriller that’s not particularly thrilling, but robust enough to keep your attention.
Like BOURNE, those lack of thrills are offset by killer casting and plenty of action. Unlike BOURNE, AMERICAN ASSASSIN has fight sequences that are incredibly well shot, for the most part. There are a couple of rare moments when the editing confuses the viewer in terms of a fight’s progression. But most of the time, the fight scenes are as engaging as they are brutal. And they are incredibly brutal.
The opening scene sets the stakes and clout expectations in a very precise and efficient way. What follows is a revenge story that’s folded into a New Spy on the Block-type thriller. Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) may not have much of a character arc, but he’s clinical in his execution of a scorned wannabe assassin who may be a little too in love with violence. His mentor is expertly played by Michael Keaton whose bad cop routine is always engaging whenever he’s on screen.
Things veer a little too far into Hollywood action territory towards the end, which jars somewhat with the otherwise grounded setup, but it doesn’t break the movie. If you were disappointed by the recent BOURNE movies, but like the action of JOHN WICK, AMERICAN ASSASSIN makes for great big-screen viewing.
