Slick but slight, this is a suitable Clooney vehicle. It also fits with a crowd of other thrillers dressed-up as low-key dramas to appear in recent years; The Town and In Bruges come to mind. The American is set in a small European town, with a lot of scenery shots and a pointlessly slow pace, as if aiming to be something ponderous and arty. Like the others, it's really just a bag of clichés: Quiet lone gunman, prostitute falls in love with him for no reason, procession in the ending, etc.

I just wanted it to end......and it did, with a very predictable ending.

"If it's half-baked Italian modernism you're after, you've come to the right place."

Fuck Italy.

"The American" doesn't have many new things to offer, especially as far as storytelling is concerned, but remains an enjoyable ride throughout.

Some elements of the American are absolutely brilliant, but director Anton Corbijn seems so intent on understating everything that he fails to deliver a great deal.

Elegant, good-looking, empty.

pithy review: a good looking but rather bland "american"......... positives: beautiful people and vistas, like the portrayal of father benedetti by paolo bonacelli. negatives: too slow going and uneventful........ overall impression: certainly no "ugly" american, but ultimately unsatisfying despite the visual treats.

While it might be a little on the slow side, it's also wholly rewarding to watch a spy movie that actually takes the time to spy instead of rushing through action sequences. I'm not sure a quicker pace would do justice to these characters, as the actors (Clooney especially) make fine use of their screentime, mining the extra minutes to bring a contemplative weight to otherwise underwritten roles. Stark photography, captivating gun assembly sequences and a nice set of tits make this one worth it.

dull & plodding direction destroyed what could have been an exceptional movie

The movie has been shot at some really picturesque locations but beyond that there is nothing good about this movie. The story is slow, long and extremely predictable. The movie could have been far more interesting.

The worst movie I have ever wasted my time on aside from Baseketball and The Stoned Age. No reason given for anything going on in the movie, loose ties never resolved and just completely irrelevant. Boring. An absolute agony to watch.

A meditative character study wrapped up in a thriller.The subdued, slightly paranoid way that George Clooney played this character worked well with this film.The subtle music and the way the film was shot added a lot to the feel of the movie.The only downer for me was that this film was a little too slow paced and dragged at times.

Nothing great about this movie and George Clooney was pretty good over all I thought the movie was ok.

Things we already knew: 1) In Italy, you can find beautiful landscapes and women, and 2) George Clooney, when stripped of neuroses and glib prancing, can be pretty dull; here he shoots for paranoia but comes up dry, so Hulme edits it in for him. The remaining material is unfortunately heavy-handed, desperately clutching at a symbolism and melodrama that ultimately detract from the dirty minimalism of the action. A script should be allowed a choice of hooker, assassin or priest, not all three.

Boring, formulaic, predictable, cliché-ridden, stretched, drug out, dull plot, ultimately average art film that fails on so many levels; I mean, the cinematography is amazing but it seems more likely to be placed in a tourist video for Italy than an actual action/drama starring George Clooney. I mean Clooney does a fine acting job and Violante Placido is beautiful and yet the film is still not well-seen. George, you were out of your element, go back to entertaining me in From Dusk Till Dawn.

A 'different' and interesting Clooney movie. I had to re-watch it several times. The surprise ending is atypical Clooney, but believable in the context of the movie. He clarifies and downplays the intensity from Michael Clayton in more believable, subtle and engaging manner.

George Clooney's a modern-day Steve McQueen which means a movie can go a long way with just him at the forefront. This isn't to say that this film isn't good, but without Clooney it would more than likely be a lot less interesting. It's fittingly slow-paced, emphasizing quiet character moments over its sporadic thrills. The cold open is the kind I love for a thriller: jolting and mysterious without feeling like a jigsaw puzzle.

Clooney isn't hitman stuff. The girl he is trading with is not hitman material as well. And the plot.. well I don't know what the plot is. The points are only for the beautiful shots from the village life of Italy, exceptional landscape and out of the ordinary selection of hotel rooms and restaurants which manages to add movie a bit of identity.

This is a beautiful film that starts off great, but begins to decline in the second half. It's slow, but involving, and George Clooney is great. There is an incredibly cliche priest character that brings the film to a dead stop with every time he shows up. The "love story" also feels a little rushed. The biggest problem that I have with the film though, is that it builds tension slowly but surely throughout, and there is no payoff. The last 10 minutes are a pretty big disappointment.

A movie which could be based on the expression "it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you!" There is not a lot of action but plenty of time is well-spent slowly building up the suspense and an atmosphere of paranoia, showing that the life of an assassin is actually rather sad. Which was a nice concept. I actually preferred the slow studied setup phase to the frantic, if slightly anticlimactic denouement. Apart from that, hot women and stunning scenery; what's not to like?

it's easy not to like the american. it's paced like a slug, it takes its visual strength from the natural landscapes of mamma italia and promises action without guns blazing all over the place. however, the fact that it actually creates a tense and thrilling atmosphere with only just these makes it all the more interesting. the movie's bedrock is clooney's genius acting. as he moves and mimics, the feeling of the plot shifts as well. overall, the american is good but only for the mature-minded.

a stand up quiet assassin movie, most of it has no killing actually, but the plot, acting, and writing are all gems. i was impressed with clooney, and the beautiful italian scenery makes the meandering plot oddly captivating.

I didn't expect such a great movie from the poster and its name.

slight pacing issue, the ending seems rather rushed compared to the buildup of the story. but it was a refreshingly subtle take on the whole "assassin-develops-conscience"-theme, and clooney seems to have a good eye for outside-the-box lately.

Another great film staring Clooney. What happens when you realize that your work doesn't inspire you and your interest is failing? You turn to people, and join the struggle of humanity. You exchanged a well oiled machine for a broken & confusing rag tag series of experiences, kinda get lost, and find you like that feeling a bit more then the smooth precision of the well oiled machine.

On a technical level, there's nothing wrong with The American. Too bad it's just another one of those 'assassin prepares for one more job and then plans to retire' stories, in this case with a very slow pace and barely any standout moments. Le Samouraï this ain't.