American Assassin (2017)

After the death of his girlfriend at the hands of terrorists, Mitch Rapp is drawn into the world of counterterrorism, mentored by tough-as-nails former U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Stan Hurley.

Director:

Michael Cuesta

Writers:

Stephen Schiff (screenplay by), Michael Finch (screenplay by)

Stars:

Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan O'Brien	...	Mitch Rapp
Charlotte Vega	...	Katrina
Christopher Bomford	...	Bartender
Chris Webster	...	Mansur Recruit Video
Shahid Ahmed	...	Adnan Al-Mansur
Buster Reeves	...	Martial Arts Instructor
Nick Cavaliere	...	Building Superintendent
Simon Connolly	...	NSA Techie
Yousef 'Joe' Sweid	...	Khaled (as Yousef Sweid)
Joost Janssen	...	American Operator (Mansur Compound)
Adam Collins	...	American Operator #2 (Mansur Compound)
Trevor White	...	Dr. Frain
Sanaa Lathan	...	Irene Kennedy
Jeff Davis	...	CIA Officer Giving Nuke Intel (as JF Davis)
David Suchet	...	Director Stansfield

Storyline

Twenty three-year-old Mitch lost his parents to a tragic car accident at the age of fourteen, and his girlfriend to a terrorist attack just as they were engaged. Seeking revenge, he is enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy as a black ops recruit. Kennedy then assigns Cold War veteran Stan Hurley to train Mitch. Together they will later on investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on military and civilian targets. The discovery of a pattern in the violence leads them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative intent on starting a world war in the Middle East.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorism | cia | revenge | beach | fight | 

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Taglines:

It takes one to kill one.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence throughout, some torture, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Arabic Polish Turkish Russian Italian Persian

Release Date:

15 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Assassin

Filming Locations:

St. George's Walk, Croydon, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,846,778, 17 September 2017

Gross USA:

$36,249,674

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$66,167,951

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Films, Lionsgate, Di Bonaventura Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Includes three actors and one actress from several Marvel franchises. Sanaa Lathan played Vanessa in Blade (1998), Scott Adkins played Lucian in Doctor Strange (2016) (and Weapon XI, uncredited, in, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)), Michael Keaton played Adrian Toomes (The Vulture) in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and Taylor Kitsch played Remy LeBeau (Gambit) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

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Goofs

In Turkey gendarmerie do not operate in cities. Military 4x4 vehicle is not painted in Turkish Army camouflage pattern. Turkish Otokar made version of the vehicle, which Turkish Army use have minor differences compared to vehicle used in the movie.

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Quotes

Stan Hurley: Patriotism exists because people like and people like me need a higher cause. Something bigger than us.

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Crazy Credits

The names of Dylan O'Brien and Michael Keaton appears in the "Diagonal Billing" method, which was first used for Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno (1974)

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Alternate Versions

In India, mandatory cuts were required for an 'A' rating; which removed a couple of uses of the term 'bastard' along with a brief shot of a naked woman.

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Connections

Featured in Box Office: Episode dated 28 September 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Sevin Gayri
Performed by George Hadjineophytou & Vivienne Dogan-Corringham
Courtesy of ARC Music Productions Int. Ltd.

User Reviews

Dylan O'Brien has found his franchise

Books are NOT movies. This needs to be said over and over, because there is always a cabal of complainers who hate any movie that doesn't faithfully follow its hardcover source. I haven't read Vince Flynn's American Assassin, and I don't intend to. But I feel fairly confident that he wasn't writing a movie. American Assassin (the movie) is a film-telling of the original story; it is NOT the original story, and it doesn't pretend to be. (Memo to Vince Flynn fanatics: Don't go see it.) American Assassin is a terrific watch, if for no other reason than seeing Dylan O'Brien nail it. And he is well aided by his supporting cast, most especially Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch and Saana Lathan. (I would like to have included Shiva Negar, but her character is severely compromised by problematic writing. She did the best she could with what she was given.) The script is larded with clichés, but for the most part the actors make good use of them. Director Michael Cuesta keeps it all moving right along. Most of the characters are very thinly drawn, leaving the actors to flesh them out as best they can. The special effects range from absent entirely to overdone. The script itself lurches from event to event, with an ending that goes beyond credulity. None of this matters. Dylan O'Brien is on screen ninety percent of the time, and his character is spot on. He is totally in command, and his charisma is entirely in charge. For a movie such as American Assassin, that's what it is all about.