Welcome back to another edition of Reviews For The Rest Of Us, movie reviews without stars, thumbs, or references to the French New Wave movement. Today's installment is the George Clooney drama, The American.
The American is NOT an action film. The previews, hype, and publicity will try to tell you it is, but don't believe them. The American is a slow-burning drama with a few, short action sequences. 95% of The American is George Clooney. George Clooney scowling, George Clooney exercising, George Clooney talking on the phone and scowling. If you go into The American thinking its going to be a middle-aged Bourne film you are going to be disappointed.
Clooney plays a man (who just happens to be a hit man) who is on the run from people trying to kill him. He hides out in a small Italian village that is reminiscent of Minas Tirith after the Battle of Pelennor Fields. He's befriended by the local priest and a prostitute from a nearby city (played by the amazingly georgeous Violante Placido) while he attempts to finish one last job before "getting out" of his chosen profession.
The film is shot well, and the alternating wide shots of the Italian countryside with the claustrophobic alleyways of the village helps to increase the tension of the cat-and-mouse between Clooney and his would-be-assassins.
If you're the type of person who appreciates the slow-building tension of a film like Witness or A Prayer for the Dying, then you'll probably enjoy The American. And since you're wondering ladies, yes-there is a naked butt shot of Mr. Clooney.
However, if a 2-hour Clooney-fest isn't your thing, but you're still looking for a film with some character development and some action, consider renting the following:
Harry Brown. Think of it as Death Wish meets Gran Torino (minus the overt racism of the main character). Michael Caine plays the titular Mr. Brown, a retired soldier who fights back against the thugs responsible for killing his best friend.
Death Wish. Charles Bronson is Paul Kersey, a NYC architect who takes the law into his own hands after his wife is murdered by street thugs.
Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood stars as a crotchety Korean War vet dealing with the death of his wife and his neighborhood's changing ethnic makeup in this excellent film that should have won the Academy Award for best picture.
Outland. Sean Connery is the sheriff off a mining colony located on one of Jupiter's moons in this version of High Noon set in outer space.
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