When transitioning a movie from book series to film you have
an issue to contend with. Millions of readers have read the books and have
created the image of the characters, especially the lead character, in their mind.
There is no way possible that the perfect actor to portray that role is
possible. But most of us can be forgiving and accept the choice if the movie is
good. JACK REACHER was a great example where the 6 foot 5 inch tall Reacher was
portrayed by the 5 foot 7 inch tall Tom Cruise. He made you forget and gave it
his all. Such will be the case for Vince Flynn’s character Mitch Rapp. Does
this film do him justice? In a word yes.
Mitch (Dylan O’Brien) is on a sunny vacation beach with his
girlfriend who he’s just proposed to. Going for drinks his world is turned
upside down when terrorists hit the beach killing tourist, his fiancé among
them, shooting Mitch and leaving him for dead. Their mistake as 18 months later
we find Mitch constantly training, learning martial arts, weaponry and turning
himself into a killing machine.
Mitch has also gone underground and located the men
responsible for the terrorists attack. He’s placed himself in their area and
convinced them he wants to join. Taken to their hidden headquarters he is about
to either be accepted or killed when several are shot through the windows, the
door is breached and the rest are killed while Mitch is handcuffed and taken
away.
The CIA was responsible for taking Mitch away and killing
the terrorist cell. Led by Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) they’d
been following Mitch’s progress all along. She sees potential in turning Mitch
into an agent and approaches him with the offer. Thinking this will help him in
his quest to eliminate all terrorists, he takes her up on the offer.
Taken to a secluded training facility in Virginia Mitch is
introduced to Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), an ex-Navy SEAL, cold war operative
and tough old school spymaster and top trainer for the CIA. Stan has close ties
to Irene having known her since she was a child but doesn’t agree with her
assessment of Mitch. He can tell that Mitch still clings to that concept of
revenge making things personal, something he goes out of his way to tell Mitch
to abandon before it controls him.
As training progresses Hurley begins to see the potential in
Mitch as well. At the same time while bucking the standard playbook presented
to him with training, Mitch begins to feel this might be a group that he can
become a part of. They continue to clash when a world shattering event happens
and calls them into action.
A free agent known only as The Ghost (Taylor Kitsch) has
stolen raw plutonium that can be used for a dirty bomb. Working for a group of
Iranian hardliners intent of using the bomb it attracts the attention of the
CIA. Even more so the attention of Hurley who knows something about The Ghost.
With his latest recruits in tow the team heads out to find the plutonium and
take down this terrorist sympathizer. But is Mitch ready? Is there something
personal about The Ghost that Hurley is taking to heart? And can the terrorists
be stopped in time?
The book series is one of the best written in some time.
Fortunately before he passed away from cancer author Flynn was involved in this
film project. That they were able to capture what was on the written page and
put it on the screen is an achievement worth noting. So much so that fans, like
myself, can only hope that the film was successful enough that more are in the
works.
In the books the character of Rapp was like a steroid
injected version of 24’s Jack Bauer, a man who believes in his mission and is
willing to do anything to get the job accomplished, that job being to take on
terrorists and protect his country. O’Brien’s version here fits the mold
perfectly. His determination and change from innocent to angel of vengeance to
full on hero is a journey on display that adds depth to a character that could
have come off as an un-costumed Batman clone. Mitch as seen here has emotions
while at the same time being focused on the mission.
Keaton shows why he can take on nearly any role sent his
way. He bursts out of comedic roles in 1989 when he stunned non-believers in to
proving he WAS Batman. Now he displays the world weary killing machine Stan
Hurley so well that there is no doubt he IS this character. While book fans
know his fate the door is left open for more training and more terrorists to be
taken down. And while the character may be angry at times for Mitch not
following orders he also recognizes that by taking initiative Mitch moves the
game forward with his natural sense of events. In essence he sees himself in
Mitch.
The movie is action packed from the first moments on the
beach till the potential cataclysmic ending, one that offers the special
effects team the chance to create something never seen before. The movie offers
a more realistic version of the spy world than the Bond movies we’ve grown up
with, a gritty no holds barred world where innocents are slaughtered for simply
being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the heroes it offers are just
as realistic, men willing to step outside the lines to insure the safety of the
world. One hopes that men like Mitch Rapp and Stan Hurley are actually out
there. While we may never actually know at least we can find comfort in the
stories of these characters both in written and filmed versions. When the
credits roll you’ll find yourself wondering when the next one will be made.
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