American Assassin

Hoping to kick-start a franchise of Bourne-esque possibilities, American Assassin introduces counter-terrorism agent Mitch Rapp, the creation of novelist Vince Flynn. In director Michael Cuesta's thriller, Dylan O'Brien plays Rapp, who suffers a devastating loss in an explosively violent prologue that sees terrorists attack an idyllic resort. After being headhunted by the CIA, Rapp tangles with "Ghost" (Taylor Kitsch), the former protégé of his handler (Michael Keaton) now looking to sell a nuclear bomb. O'Brien and Kitsch perform with conviction but neither rises above the pedestrian material. Characteristically wild-eyed and with a wiry physicality, Keaton fares better, particularly when he's let off the leash emotionally - a scene where he critiques his own torture is a highlight. Cuesta does a competent job at the helm but any punch and polish is undermined by the failings of the script. American Assassin deals with real-world hostilities in a way that prioritises action above all else. That its protagonist is an uncommunicative hothead whose thirst for vengeance leaves him blind to the bigger picture speaks volumes about the film's shortcomings.