Let's be honest: American Assassin is the cinematic equivalent of gas station sushi. Technically it's food, technically it's a movie, but why would you choose this?
The film opens with a brutal murder that launches our protagonist into a revenge spiral, then follows every predictable beat of the post-Bourne spy thriller playbook. Critics savaged it (34% on Rotten Tomatoes) for good reason - it's generic, uninspired, and brings nothing new to a saturated genre. Even audiences who are typically more forgiving only gave it 61%.
The violence is extreme and graphic, making it inappropriate for anyone under 17, but the storytelling is so paint-by-numbers that adults who've seen any decent action movie will be bored. It's not enriching, it's not imaginative, and it certainly doesn't model healthy emotional processing (spoiler: revenge isn't therapy).
If you're desperate for background noise and have literally exhausted every other option on your streaming service, sure, it'll fill 111 minutes. But there are dozens of better action thrillers that will actually entertain you. This one's a skip.




