Plot: After the death of his girlfriend at the hands of terrorists, Mitch Rapp is drawn into the world of counterterrorism, mentored by tough-as-nails former U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Stan Hurley.
American Assassin follows the story of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), a young man whose life is shattered when his fiancée is killed in a terrorist attack. Consumed by vengeance, Mitch joins a secret CIA black ops program led by Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). Under Hurley’s guidance, Mitch undergoes intense training to become a lethal operative. Tasked with stopping a mysterious operative known as “Ghost,” who plans to unleash chaos on the world, Mitch and Hurley embark on a globe-trotting mission filled with high-stakes action and deadly encounters.
In this dangerous world of covert operations, Scott Adkins plays Victor, a mercenary who works for the terrorist group behind the global threat. Although not the main antagonist, Adkins’ character plays a crucial role in escalating the tension and serving as a formidable adversary. His skills as a mercenary bring a physical presence to the film, adding to the high-intensity action sequences. Victor’s involvement in the terrorist plot poses a significant challenge for Mitch and Stan as they race against time to prevent a catastrophic event.
As Mitch’s skills sharpen, he must confront his own inner demons and navigate a world of deception. His mission leads him into direct conflict with Victor and other deadly enemies, testing his abilities and resolve. Ultimately, Mitch must become the ultimate American Assassin to stop the global threat and avenge the loss of his fiancée.
Opportunity to work with a stellar cast
When the film was released, Scott talked to the website Comicbook.com about playing his role in Criminal.
“Yeah, well the script was good, but the part was not necessarily that great.Of course it was the opportunity to work with a stellar cast with obviously Kevin Costner and Gary Oldman and Tommy Lee Jones and Ryan Reynolds. It was a great cast so I just thought “Well, this is a great thing to be a part of.”
I enjoyed the script, I liked the director, his previous film The Iceman, and I have a relationship with the producers. I’ve done a lot of work with those guys before and they were shooting in London which I live in the UK. Nothing else going on at the time, you know, like something to do.
I mean, you’re an actor, you get paid to act. Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of picking … Like it’s not up to me to say “Right, I want to do this. I’ll play James Bond now. Okay, step over.” It doesn’t work like that, does it? You’re at the mercy of the films that you are offered. You can only choose what’s on the table at that point. That’s how I put food on the table for my family and I work as an actor so that was what made sense at the time.
The role in Criminal was very expositional in the way that a lot of what I say is further in the story and giving information to other characters and you’ve just got to make a way to make that reel and stay in the moment with that.
People look at my film CV and they think that this is something new, but since the very beginning, I’ve played ricks of people, normal characters, British TV shows, and things like that. For me, it’s nothing new. For me, it’s the way it always has been. People seem so surprised when I’m not playing a villain or being the hero of an action movie, but for me, that’s the way it’s always been.”
The Trailer