Falling firmly within the spy games/Black Ops shenanigans territory, American Assassin and Unlocked were theatrical releases that both were aiming for franchise potential, but which fell considerably short of the goal, meaning that sequels are pretty unlikely. As such, it's probably one-and-done for these two would-be series, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't watchable.
Indeed, the two films are pretty much what free preview weekends are made for, which is to say, exactly the sort of thing you might find yourself watching if they didn't cost you anything beyond access to a pay cable movie channel. Such was the case for me over this past Thanksgiving weekend, which is why I found myself watching two movies I probably would never have paid to see in theaters, much less would I buy the DVD/Blu-Ray.
What else are pay cable channels good for, beyond the original programming? Especially in this day and age, when you can simply stream whatever you want, more or less, with a few notable, obscure selections that are still elusive here and there, just to keep collectors and avid cult movie fans on their toes.
There was definitely a period in which I had several movie channels, Netflix, bought new and/or used DVDs and Blu-Rays and frequented a local Redbox all at once, before, like many before me, realizing how much overkill that was and finally cutting the cord. I aced all the movie channels, started watching certain shows with friends who still had them and streamed the rest online. I'm a lot happier now, and I'm not spending a ridiculous amount of money on stuff I don't need.
That said, I do have basic cable, but mostly because I have to have it in order to simply watch the main networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and the CW. I suppose I could just watch that stuff online, too (and some of it I still do) but old habits die-hard, and I do like to be able to watch certain things live. Compared the the ludicrous amount of shit I had before, though, it's no contest: online streaming is definitely my preferred method on the whole.
Even so, it's still a kick to check those upper 500 channels and see that, lo and behold, I have certain channels I don't normally have because it's free preview weekend time. Granted, it seems like a lot of them show old-ass shit that most of us have seen a million times, but they also sneak in just enough new stuff in there to make it worthwhile, including some left-of-center indies that I might not have seen or have been aware of otherwise.
Such was the case this Thanksgiving weekend, and I took advantage of it as much as possible, as I wolfed down leftovers and vegged out over the holiday weekend. American Assassin and Unlocked were among said offerings, and even if they were both a bit by-the-numbers, I can't say I regret watching either because I probably wouldn't have seen them at all otherwise.
AA was the one of the two that I was aware of- I remember seeing the trailer and thinking: well, I clearly don't have to see that movie now, as the trailer spoiled it all for me already. Don't you hate that? Fortunately, enough time had passed since I saw it that I had forgotten everything beyond the initial premise: a guy is vacationing with his girlfriend at some exotic locale and he pops the question, only for some terrorist types to randomly attack everyone, killing his newly-minted fiancée in the process. Needless to say, he is not amused.
Cut to the guy seemingly looking to join a terrorist organization online. Just when it seems like he's getting somewhere, the authorities bust in and everyone is either killed or arrested, including our hero, Mitch Rapp, played by Teen Wolf star Dylan O'Brien. Turns out they've been tracking Rapp for some time, and CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan, Alien vs. Predator- also playing this past weekend) offers him a new gig, or else Rapp is going straight to prison, do not pass go.
Rapp takes option A and is dropped off for training with former US Navy Seal and all-around bad-ass and former Batman to boot, Stan Hurley, played by Michael Keaton. Hurley runs a Black Op unit that specializes in taking down terrorists. Naturally, Rapp likes to "play by his own rules" and has a predisposition to go "rogue" when the game-plan doesn't suit him. But he gets things done, so Hurley puts up with it, or at the very least, Kennedy forces him to.
So, it turns out that the terrorist they're hunting this time around is- plot twist! - one of Hurley's former trainees, who goes by the name of Ghost (Taylor Kitsch, in Lone Survivor mode) and is seemingly planning to sell a nuclear weapon to some Middle Eastern baddies. Can Hurley's team stop the deal? Will Rapp go rogue yet again along the way? Will there be more twists? Have you seen one of these movies?
AA gets the job done, just barely. There are some nifty (if admittedly unbelievable) action sequences towards the end, and O'Brien is a sympathetic, if also slightly unbelievable, anti-hero that plays by his own rules. I say the second unbelievable because, for those of us who watched Teen Wolf, it's still a little bit hard to let go of the fact that "Stiles" is being groomed as an action hero type, when he's still a fairly wiry, skinny-looking thing. But that may only be a hang-up for those of us who watched that particular show. Beyond that, though, it's all a bit predictable and that includes the "twists."
Faring slightly better is Unlocked, which, while also predictable in many ways, does have a few somewhat more unpredictable twists going for it than AA. It also has professional bad-ass and former Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, OG edition, Noomi Rapice in the lead, which further sets it apart from most of the typically male-dominated pack. The overall cast is also more impressive than AA.
Rapace plays Alice Racine, an undercover spy who is a social worker keeping an eye out for budding terrorists, particularly of the Islamic Extremist variety. She's still nursing some old wounds from a failed op that cost some 24 people their lives when a group of suicide bombers took them out in Paris- an act she felt she could have stopped if she had moved faster on info she had about the terrorists' plans.
When a CIA officer approaches her about getting back into the game and helping them crack a courier for a radical preacher that is suspected of being in the process of planning a biological attack somewhere in London, she begrudgingly agrees, only for things to go south quickly, ultimately resulting in her having to go on the run for her life.
Helping her out in various ways are: Eric Lasch (Michael Douglas) as her former mentor and employee of the CIA; Emily Knowles (Toni Collette), an MI5 Intelligence Chief; Jack Alcott (Orlando Bloom), a would-be thief and former soldier; and Amjad (Tosin Cole, from the current season of Dr. Who), a taxi driver that's a friend of Racine's.
Hindering her are a variety of people, most of which I can't discuss without spoiling some things, but I can say that Bob Hunter, the European CIA Division Chief, played by John Malkovich, isn't exactly on Team Alice from the get-go. There are admittedly some solid twists in this one, some of which I genuinely didn't see coming, though some are a bit silly in retrospect. In the moment, though, they're reasonably effective.
Overall, I really like this one, much more so than AA. AA may have had the bigger budget and the more wow-inducing special effects and action sequences, but Unlocked has a better script, better cast, and tight, taut direction from pro Michael Apted, of the Bond flick The World is Not Enough fame.
It also has those cool twists going for it, and a strong female heroine, always a plus as far as I'm concerned. It may have been a non-starter at the box office, but it's precisely the kind of late-night movie find pay cable channels are tailor-made for. I suppose both films are worth at least a watch, and which you may prefer might depend on what kind of action movie you like better- or possibly your feelings about the respective casts- but I definitely enjoyed Unlocked more on the whole.
I don't know that I'd recommend buying either one, but a rental might not be a bad bet, especially if you dig this sort of thing. Perhaps needless to say, if you are a subscriber to one of the pay cable channels that is showing either one, then, by all means, check them both out. You might start to forget them as soon as they're over, but you won't hate yourself for watching either one. That may sound like faint praise, but what more do you want for a couple of also-ran flicks that tanked at the box office? At least they didn't suck outright.
So, yeah- check them out, if you like this sort of thing. If not, then I can't imagine you would be interested in the first place, and neither one of them is likely to change your mind if you already feel that way. But points and credit where its due to Unlocked for at least going with a female lead- if it's girl power you're looking for, you could do a lot worse than Rapace- she rocks. 😍
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