Shiva Negar, Michael Keaton, Neg Adamson and Dylan O'Brien star in a scene from the movie "American Assassin." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/CBS Films and Lionsgate)

By Catholic News Service

This adaptation of the 2010 novel by Vince Flynn, directed by Michael Cuesta, is a gory revenge fantasy that opens with a bang and proceeds at a breakneck pace, unleashing a veritable tsunami of bullets, bodies and blood as it goes.

When his fiancee (Charlotte Vega) is gunned down by terrorists, a young man (Dylan O’Brien) seeks to avenge her death by transforming into a lean, mean, fighting machine. Recruited by a CIA official (Sanaa Lathan), he becomes part of a black-ops program run by a grizzled veteran (Michael Keaton). With the aid of a Turkish agent (Shiva Negar), mentor and protege seek to infiltrate a terrorist cell determined to wage nuclear war (Taylor Kitsch plays its mysterious leader). A strong stomach and extreme patience are required until the film finally comes to its senses, and good triumphs over evil.

A vigilante theme, constant bloody violence, including torture and gunplay, brief upper female nudity, several uses of profanity, pervasive rough and much crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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