American Assassin

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

I purchased this film because I am a fan of the Mitch Rapp series. If you have read the book, you will be disappointed because the director and screenwriters chose to alter every character, not just in appearance, but in their basic personality. Mitch Rapp comes off as an uncontrollable emotional single-focus bent upon revenge with some background preparational skills. His one flash of insight involves a female team member. Kennedy is sort of downplayed in intelligence and control. Stan has been cleaned up from a raging psychopath with a mean streak into a doubting but strong-willed leader. I miss the vicious and flawed training program, the logic behind the selection of Rapp and most of all, the clever and thoughtful individual excape and return. That said, as an action film, there is sufficient tension and enough twists to warrant my rating of three stars. The selection of Mitch’s actor was poorly chosen. Mitch is supposed to be a physical athelete with quickness and strength, not a skinny college dude. The introduction of Mitch to the Orion program should have included more conflict, as Stan’s concept of military background first has proven unworkable, his training too brutal and rigid and nowhere are Mitch’s exceptional skills displayed other than a few short clips of him shooting and working out, which makes his eventual success less believable. If you want a real story, read the book American Assasin and you will be introduced to a great series.-S. Fox

A couple months ago, I read American Assassin by the late author Vince Flynn. The origin story for his hero Mitch Rapp provided some solid back story to the CIA operative. Hollywood has been trying to bring the hero to the screen for years. By adapting this prequel novel and casting young Dylan O’Brien of Maze Runner fame as Rapp, filmmakers have set up this movie to serve as the first in a planned franchise based upon Flynn’s novels.The film opens with the gruesome scene of Mitch witnessing his fiance being murdered in cold blood during a terrorist attack on a beach. Driven by grief and an unyielding thirst for revenge, Rapp begins the process of infiltrating the terrorist group responsible for the attack. As a lone civilian in contact with some of the world’s most wanted terrorists, he quickly catches the attention of the CIA. Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) takes a particular interest in Rapp. His personal drive, physical strength, and discreet investigative prowess could make him an ideal candidate for the agency’s top secret Orion group.- Ethan

I have read all the Vince Flynn books featuring Mitch Rapp. They are all excellent. I was not disappointed in the movie American Assassin. Dylan O’Brien and Michael Keaton were terrific as the people they portrayed…especially Keaton. I would love to see another Mitch Rapp movie. The books were great and this movie did justice to the book.-Martin Rousso

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, Scott Adkins
Directors: Michael Cuesta
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 1
Rated: R-Restricted
Studio: LIONSGATE
DVD Release Date: December 5, 2017
Run Time: 112 minutes
ASIN: B075FNZL5T