Fueled by rage following the death of his fiance in a terrorist attack Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) dedicates himself to the destruction of the cell responsible. Later picked up by the CIA he is trained by ex Navy Seal Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) just in time for his first operation to retrieve a stolen nuclear device.

Based on a series of novels by Vince Flynn, American Assassin feels like a quintessential spy thriller from the 1990’s. A much harder edged Patriot Games with much less nuance.

Where it excels is in some incredibly brutal action scenes. This assassin is not afraid of an 18 certificate and a lot of blood. Far from gratuitous, these scenes actually give you a sense of consequence to the violence. Keaton is good as well as the “seen it all before” veteran trainer despite his character being an archetype of the spy thriller.

Plot and character wise it will be nothing new, but it is perfectly serviceable as entertainment, but unlikely to stay in the memory for long. The only thing to leave a sour taste in my mouth was how the film seems to represent American foreign politics.