American Star

McShane builds into the role throughout this metaphor of waiting. Waiting to let go of the things in his life and coming to terms with whatever was killing him slowly, military life, loss, divorce, family, shame, childhood dreams, joy. It's a backdrop for the end for the lead, where dialogue becomes less meaningful, his sunken dreams washed up, perhaps mythically on an abandoned shoreline. Ultimately he has followed orders to the end, perhaps even beyond into purgatory itself.

American Star seems a misleading title somewhat, but it's an interesting and captivating narrative for those more introspective evenings.

I really hate giving a film that has nice scenery and Ian McShane a bad review. McShane puts in yet another seasoned performance and sells this empty script as best he can. This should have been within a 30 minute TV show time slot but is needlessly extended almost 2 full hours.

In short, an aging hitman comes to an island and waits for the target to arrive. Dullness ensues and an eventual confrontation. While it ends poetically it wasn't too well thought out. There was one scene which really shouldn't have happened if this film was to be what it tries to sell and it doesn't sell what it purports to sell very well either. Instead, it resorts to absolute minimalism and lets you, the audience, try to fill in the huge blanks and empty spaces it leaves. And for 2 hours, that's a major chore as you wait for signs of something to happen. We got the point that we're on Island time but that doesn't mean the audience needs to eperience it in full.

The real problem - no back story so why should you care about any of the characters. Even the main character reveals precious little about himself and it's nothing more than skin deep. You're not missing much and the actors elevate a lazy script.

If you have a short attention span, hate great cinematography, don't understand nuance..can't abide beautiful scenery..have no interest in the combined complexities of human relationships coupled with random synchronicity..if you also hate nor have the intellectual capacity for nuance nor well observed subtitles..if you also have very little capacity for understanding human emotion and are devoid of compassion..if you cannot suspend disbelief..if your cinematic diet does not extend beyond soda and popcorn and that that is all the nourishment and sustenance you require in your consumption of film then this piece is not for you.

I loved it.

Beautifully shot film with a great slow arc to a harsh climax.

Ian mcshane delivers a very understated performance but that's the point of his character, a man who shouldn't be noticed too much but can't help interacting with fellow islanders.

It reminds me of The Hit with Tim Roth, Terence Stamp and John Hurt.

The scenery is stunning, the performances are all brilliant, and a soothing score fills the film nicely.

Don't watch if you want a good paced film where lots happen in quick succession.

The female co-star is fantastic in her role and oozes charm when around mcshane.

A really great film, and one I'll watch again.

I'm not sure why this has a low rating. It's actually very well shot, the acting is very good, and while slow it's correctly paced for the genre.

The story is pretty rudimentary but it's handled well. The director does a great job framing the scenes and the setting is really beautiful.

This isn't an action movie so I guess the low ratings are from people who expected a man in his 70s to be doing Jason Statham level fight scenes?

It's a hitman story and it's a good one. The villain is played well too and the story does crash together at the end in an interesting way.

If you like hitman movies and appreciate slower paced, character driven and building stories you'll likely enjoy this.