6 days ago

25 Movies like American Assassin: From Crazy Hitmen to Time Travelling Assassins

About American Assassin

Directed by Michael Cuesta, American Assassin stars Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, David Suchet, Navid Negahban, Scott Adkins, and Taylor Kitsch. It was released in the year 2017.

American Assassin is a complicated film about main character, Mitch, whose girlfriend dies in a terrorist attack. So, in a convoluted plan to put an end to terrorism, he joins the CIA and that’s when things start to get interesting.

After a recent re-watch I started thinking about how many movies like American Assassin are out there and which star Assassins in an assortment of dangerous missions.

1. Blade (1998)

Directed by Stephen Norrington, Blade stars Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright and Donal Logue. It was released in the year 1998.

Blade is the live action adaptation of the Marvel Comics’ half human/half vampire character named Blade. Although comic book purists would say it’s not a very good adaptation, I would say it’s worth a watch if you’re up for 2 hours of non-stop vampire ass-kicking to a high intensity soundtrack.

2. Hitman (2007)

Directed by Xavier Gens, Hitman stars Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, and Olga Kurylenko. It was released in the year 2007.

Hitman is about a professional Hitman turned assassin who gets caught up in a criminal conspiracy which sees him on the run from Interpol and the agency he works for.

3. John Wick (2014)

Written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo and Willem Dafoe. It was released in the year 2014.

John Wick is about a legendary hitman (portrayed by Keanu Reeves) who is forced out of retirement when the son of a mob boss and his men invade his home and kill his puppy. A puppy who was the last present to him from his now deceased wife. What starts next is a one-man vendetta against the entire mob and its action scenes are second to no film in recent memory.

4. Collateral (2004)

Directed by Michael Mann, Collateral stars Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, and Bruce McGill. It was released in the year 2004.

Collateral is about a taxi driver named Max whose passenger, Vincent, is on a mission to assassinate a long list of people. Max summons the courage to take on Vincent in a game of wits.

5. The Transporter (2002)

Directed by Cory Yuen, The Transporter stars Jason Statham, Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze and Ric Young. It was released in the year 2002.

The Transporter is about a man named Frank Martin, a former special operations solder who now works as a driver/mercenary in southern France under the callsign, "The Transporter." When delivering a package he discovers that the package is a woman but delivers her to her destination. When he receives payment in the form of a suitcase and the suitcase blows up -- is where things get really interesting.

6. Wanted (2008)

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, and Chris Pratt. It was released in the year 2008.

Wanted is about a young man named Wesley who learns that his father (who has been missing for years) is an assassin. But when his father is murdered he’s then recruited into this secret society of assassins. And the one training him? Has looks that could kill.

7. The Equalizer (2014)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, The Equalizer stars Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo. It was released in the year 2014.

The Equalizer is one of the many great action movies. It focuses on a former U.S. Marine turned DIA intelligence officer who returns to action to protect a teenage prostitute from the Russian mob.

8. The Bourne Identity (2002)

Directed by Doug Liman, The Bourne Identity is a spy thriller starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente. Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. It was released in the year 2002.

The Bourne Identity follows a man suffering amnesia who gradually begins to piece back together his identity. An identity which is revealed as Jason Bourne who is intrinsically linked to a conspiracy unfolding within the CIA. This is basically Matt Damon at his very best.

9. Taken (2008)

Directed by Pierre Morel, Taken is a thriller starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Katie Cassidy, Leland Orser, and Holly Valance. It was released in the year 2008.

Taken is about an ex-Secret Service agent whose daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers and will do anything he can to get her back. Even if it means kicking the butts of every man in Paris to get to her.

10. Crank (2006)

Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Crank stars Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, and Dwight Yoakam. It was released in the year 2006.

Crank follows Chev Chelios who is poisoned by the mafia and will die if his heartbeat beats too slow. So what follows is a nonstop thrill ride where Chev must do anything to keep his adrenaline pumping.

11. Tenet (2020)

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh. It was released in the year 2020.

Tenet is a science fiction film which challenges the normal flow of the space time continuum. In Tenet, the viewer is drawn into the world of a former CIA agent who learns how to weaponise time itself and prevent attacks from the future. And in true Christopher Nolan form, there’s plenty of clever camera tricks that will make you feel like you’re the one travelling through time and on mind altering substances. This film is peak Nolan creativity.

12. The One (2001)

Directed by James Wong, The One is a science fiction action movie starring Jet Li, Delroy Lindo, Carla Gugino and Jason Statham. It was released in the year 2001.

The One is about Jet Li’s character, Gabriel Yulaw, a rogue interdimensional agent who realises that if he kills other versions of himself then their energies are redistributed into him and so he becomes stronger, faster and nigh unstoppable. When his other self from another reality, LASD deputy sheriff Gabe Law teams up with another interdimensional agent hot on Gabriel’s heels, is when things get really interesting. Ending in an incredible showdown between Jet Li’s characters and… himself.

13. Rogue Hostage (2021)

Directed by Jon Keeyes, Rogue Hostage is an action thriller movie starring Tyrese Gibson, John Malkovich, Michael Jai White and Christopher Backus. It was released in the year 2021.

Rogue Hostage follows two separate protagonists; Former Marine Kyle Snowden who suffers am acute form of PTSD from his time served in the military and Congressman Sam Nelson. Both are put in confronting circumstances which brings them closer together.

14. Renegades (2017)

Directed by Steven Quale, Renegades is an action thriller starring Sullivan Stapleton, Charlie Bewley, Alain Blažević, Sylvia Hoeks, Joshua Henry, Andrej Dojkić, Diarmaid Murtagh, Dimitri Leonidas, Clemens Schick, Ewen Bremner and J. K. Simmons. It was released in the year 2017.

As a Franco-German film project, the majority of the film follows a team of NAVY Seals who are asked to salvage Nazi gold which is stored in a bank vault at the bottom of a Bosnian Lake. However, there are Bosnian forces who are determined to stop them.

15. Beirut (2018)

Directed by Brad Anderson, Beirut is a political action thriller starring Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Larry Pine, and Shea Whigham. It was released in the year 2018.

Beirut follows a U.S. diplomat living in Beirut with his wife, who then begin caring for a 13 year old Palestinian boy who says he has no family. However, when the diplomate is approached by the CIA and told that the boy is linked to the 1972 Munich Massacre, because the boy's brother is a potential terrorist. When the boy's brother attacks the couple during a party, the wife is killed and the diplomat's life turns upside down.