American Assassin Review: 2 Ups & 8 Downs

It's never a good sign when reviews only start dropping for a movie the day before it hits screens, especially when said movie has been marketed fairly minimally and unceremoniously dumped in cinemas in-between two high-profile blockbusters (It and Kingsman: The Golden Circle).

American Assassin is not a good movie, no, and while it does benefit from solid performances and some entertaining moments throughout, it's effortlessly undone by, well, everything else that just fundamentally doesn't work.

Reviews have generally been mixed so far, while the box office is projected to get annihilated by Pennywise once again, so there's not much hope for this one becoming a breakout hit.

Simply, unless you're a big fan of Dylan O'Brien or Michael Keaton, you might want to wait until this one hits streaming, because this adaptation of the late Vince Flynn's 2010 spy novel is a totally mediocre, generic thriller for the most part and not at all worthy of your hard-earned cash...

Downs...

8. It Takes Itself Way Too Seriously

This is an incredibly ridiculous film that makes the criminal mistake of taking itself completely seriously.

That's not to say that a movie about battling terrorism needs to be "fun", but considering that the plot follows a vengeful young American man who semi-randomly ends up hired by the CIA as an assassin, the tone probably should've been a little less severe.

Instead, the film's mood is about as downbeat as a funeral, which clashes harshly with the sheer number of scenes that derail the viewer's suspension of disbelief, be they ludicrous action beats or simple leaps in character logic.

It's a film that'll have you laughing a surprising amount, but certainly not with it, sadly. A quip here or there and a generally lighter approach to its silly premise would've gone a long way.