Movie #438 ........................."The American"

Movie #438 "The American" was better than I thought it would be. I guess people expected it to be a Bourne Identity movie, but I didn't. I thought it would be character driven and a bit slow in pace, but tense, and it didn't miss there. A big negative I heard about it was that stuff happened in the film and people didn't know the reasons ---- I guess I'm used to seeing movies like "Inception" and "Memento" and foreign films that are more involved, because this film was pretty easy to follow. I had seen the topic before (it's based on a Japanese film) ---- older assassin (or spy) who decides after this one last job then he's out --- and you can kind of guess all the problems that will present when you want to get out and you know too much! I would have billed this more a love story, and I'm a sucker for that --- put that with some intensity, some people following him, beautiful scenery of Italy, and just beautiful photography (including closeups of George Clooney a lot) and that makes for a 3 star movie for me. I liked it, and if you are ready to sit through a little slower, quiet film, this is for you. Oh, but sit up close to the t.v. or your computer because the one big negative I had were the subtitles --- they were in white and very, very tiny. More than 1/2 I couldn't read, but you know, it really didn't matter because you could tell what was happening anyway. Dialogue was not that big of a deal in this film, and that was refreshing.




I gave it 3 stars.
The American
(2010) R
On the heels of a rough assignment, assassin Jack (George Clooney) declares that his next job will be his last. Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him. Although duty will surely call, Jack becomes friends with Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and falls for villager Clara (Violante Placido) in this suspense thriller directed by Anton Corbijn.
Genre: Suspense
This movie is: Dark, Suspenseful
Format: DVD and Blu-ray