George Clooney’s Overlooked 2010 Action Thriller That Deserves More Attention Just Hit Netflix

With the success of Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Identity, and several installments in the James Bondfranchise, films have calcified the idea that espionage agents are modern day superheroes. There is certainly nothing wrong with these types of entertaining blockbusters, but in reality, the life of a spy is often a cold, lonely existence that does not include public admiration. Director Anton Corbijn certainly knows his way around stories about Cold War paranoia, as he directed the underrated John le Carré adaptation A Most Wanted Man, which took a more realistic look at the international manhunt for terrorists. However, Corbijin had previously crafted one of the most nuanced modern spy epics with his adaptation of a classic novel by Martin Booth; The American is a dark, contemplative spy thriller that features one of George Clooney’s most underrated performances.