A Not so Gun-Blazing Hitman Film, ‘American Star’
By Ethan Martinez
The hitman genre has always been an action-packed fan favorite that promises blood and gore. The 2024 thriller “American Star” took a different route from a bloodshed film and instead focused on humanizing our protagonist, Wilson.
The movie opens on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, where Wilson is tasked with eliminating his target. Upon his arrival, Wilson is surprised to find that his target is not in his house despite intel saying he would be there. Most assassins would call it a day and report back, but Wilson decides to wait on the island.
During this time, the film shows Wilson as a good, humble man who is contemplating leaving the hitman business. We see him build relationships on the island and share moments with his new companions which causes an eerie dynamic knowing he will have to kill soon.
Wilson’s character development and the realization that he needs to move away from a life of contract murder is the premise of the movie. This film is a massive curve ball to viewers as most fans expected a thriller-packed violent movie, but instead received a dialogue-heavy self-reflection piece that at times feels very slow.
A scene that best summarizes “American Star” is when Wilson and newly acquainted friends are both at a bar drinking and conversing about their past lives. While this conversation is happening, the camera is panning to the beauty of the island and its tropical nature. The film does an excellent job involving the island’s beauty in Wilson’s self-reflection journey. For director, Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego, this was exactly what he was aiming for.
“I was so obsessed with portraying those landscapes and the island, how the island looks, that I don’t feel that I missed anything,” Lopez-Gallego told Screen Rant in an interview. “I was able to really go deep into the landscapes, and it’s not about the landscape. It’s about the mood the landscape gives you, that feel. And as you said, it’s not that we wanted to do a documentary style, but we wanted to be with him.”
When watching “American Star”, it is evident just how much effort Lopez-Gallego put into emphasizing the self-reflection Wilson endures in this story. The American Star was a former ship that is now abandoned on the island. A ship that was once the life of the party sits in its final resting place where it will lay for the rest of eternity. This metaphor highlights the main message of the movie and the internal struggle Wilson faces.
Overall, a slow but very beautiful movie with excellent dialogue and a well-selected cast that adds life to their characters. The beauty of the islands and overall scenery help with the mood of self-reflection and the overall plot was a unique and interesting twist to a genre that usually lacks versatility.
This was a good but different film, my one critique being there were parts of the movie that were too slow and dialogue-heavy. This is not a problem for most genres, but I had to remind myself that I signed up for a hit man movie. If you plan on watching American Star in theaters, my one piece of advice: go alone. This is not a movie where your adrenaline is pumping throughout, but rather one where you ask yourself, “How much different am I from Wilson?”
4 stars out of 5.
