Review of The American (2010) by Aakash K — 22 Jun 2012

Movies like this are rare to find. The promotion clearly screamed that this will not be an action packed extravaganza like Bourne or Bond. The poster showed that this will be a homage to the great 70s thrillers, like The Limey was. The movie doesn't have the critical acclaim of The Limey, and it has divided audiences. This is the decade of the young generation(that I am a part of) where they want to see explosions,lots of action and not a lot of usage of the brain. These are the people that made Vampires Suck number one at the box office for some time.

In short, the majority of this generation will not like the movie. The thing is, I did. I expected a cool spy drama with nice performances, a slow pace and building tension. That's exactly what I got. George Clooney gave a great performance. The American is all on his shoulders. Each scene is stolen by him. The other main actors-Paolo Bonacelli, Thekla Reuten, and Violante Placido are all very good.

The most engaging parts of the movie are when Clooney(who plays Edward..or Jack..) is making the weapon. I was definitely interested. I really love the artistry of the movie. The experienced or open minded moviegoers will be seriously glued to the screen.

A main problem here is that the movie's story isn't so amazing. It wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be but nor was it different. Another issue is that at most times not much is progressing in the story, but it's okay because the building tension more or less makes up for it.

My verdict is: the average moviegoer will be bored. The experienced moviegoer will be happy. The moviegoer that expected a slow thriller will be pleased-like me. I will recommend this to the latter two. 7/10 (solid).