When I first heard about THE GUNMAN starring Sean Penn, I wasn't that interested. I didn't look at a trailer for some time. I figured Penn was taking his shot at the Liam Neeson action renaissance, which was not as interesting as his typical choices. Kevin Costner tried to enter the Luc Besson action school last year with 3 DAYS TO KILL and that didn't work out. But Penn was going with TAKEN Director Pierre Morel, which at least gave him a shot at success.
When I saw Penn's screenwriting credit on screen and the fact that the movie opens in the Congo, I thought I was in for a healthy dose of politics and things started making more sense to me as to why Penn chose this project. Surprisingly though the picture is not that political or heavy handed and in fact much of it takes a backseat to the action. Sadly however, the plot is one we have seen many times before - the lone badass on the run, pursued by countless bad guys, not sure who he can trust. Thankfully the execution is done well. The action is pretty grounded and well staged, something Director Morel is good at. It doesn't get into preposterous, over the top territory. Penn's character Jim Terrier knows how to handle himself and makes good decisions. And Penn sells it completely. He is in incredible shape in this picture and does everything himself. The villains are also pretty smart and tend to make good decisions as well, which always ups the stakes in a formula story like this.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag. The usually amazing Javier Bardem did nothing for me here. Anyone could have played his role and made more of an impression. Ray Winstone is a riot as Stanley, even though I couldn't understand half of what he said. THE GUNMAN is really alive when Winstone is on screen. Surprisingly Idris Elba is barely in the picture. Director Morel said the edit was initially quite a bit longer, so I wonder if there are Elba scenes on the cutting room floor.
The real problem is Jasmine Trinca as Annie. Penn's character is madly in love with her. Yet neither the screenplay nor her performance really gives us reason to buy into that. Yes, she's fairly attractive and she's a doctor working in the Congo, but there was no chemistry, no sparks. And a lot of the story is about Penn trying to keep both himself and her alive. A leading lady with more charisma would have made THE GUNMAN work a whole lot better.
Strangely, Penn's character has a medical condition that seems to come and go. Sometimes it severely impairs him, sometimes you completely forget about it. He is still virtually unstoppable throughout, making you wonder how much deadlier he would be without it. Was it just there to make things more even?
I enjoyed THE GUNMAN. It's well made, the action is solid and Penn is really invested in the character. Sadly though in a few months, it will be forgotten. There is nothing particularly memorable here and nothing that warrants a second viewing. If you like Penn and you like fairly grounded action, it will make for a fun night out at the movies.
REVIEW: "The Gunman" by Brian McQuery
When I first heard about THE GUNMAN starring Sean Penn, I wasn't that interested. I didn't look at a trailer for some time. I figured Penn was taking his shot at the Liam Neeson action renaissance, which was not as interesting as his typical choices. Kevin Costner tried to enter the Luc Besson action school last year with 3 DAYS TO KILL and that didn't work out. But Penn was going with TAKEN Director Pierre Morel, which at least gave him a shot at success.
When I saw Penn's screenwriting credit on screen and the fact that the movie opens in the Congo, I thought I was in for a healthy dose of politics and things started making more sense to me as to why Penn chose this project. Surprisingly though the picture is not that political or heavy handed and in fact much of it takes a backseat to the action. Sadly however, the plot is one we have seen many times before - the lone badass on the run, pursued by countless bad guys, not sure who he can trust. Thankfully the execution is done well. The action is pretty grounded and well staged, something Director Morel is good at. It doesn't get into preposterous, over the top territory. Penn's character Jim Terrier knows how to handle himself and makes good decisions. And Penn sells it completely. He is in incredible shape in this picture and does everything himself. The villains are also pretty smart and tend to make good decisions as well, which always ups the stakes in a formula story like this.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag. The usually amazing Javier Bardem did nothing for me here. Anyone could have played his role and made more of an impression. Ray Winstone is a riot as Stanley, even though I couldn't understand half of what he said. THE GUNMAN is really alive when Winstone is on screen. Surprisingly Idris Elba is barely in the picture. Director Morel said the edit was initially quite a bit longer, so I wonder if there are Elba scenes on the cutting room floor.
The real problem is Jasmine Trinca as Annie. Penn's character is madly in love with her. Yet neither the screenplay nor her performance really gives us reason to buy into that. Yes, she's fairly attractive and she's a doctor working in the Congo, but there was no chemistry, no sparks. And a lot of the story is about Penn trying to keep both himself and her alive. A leading lady with more charisma would have made THE GUNMAN work a whole lot better.
Strangely, Penn's character has a medical condition that seems to come and go. Sometimes it severely impairs him, sometimes you completely forget about it. He is still virtually unstoppable throughout, making you wonder how much deadlier he would be without it. Was it just there to make things more even?
I enjoyed THE GUNMAN. It's well made, the action is solid and Penn is really invested in the character. Sadly though in a few months, it will be forgotten. There is nothing particularly memorable here and nothing that warrants a second viewing. If you like Penn and you like fairly grounded action, it will make for a fun night out at the movies.
STARRING:
Sean Penn
Idris Elba
Ray Winstone
Mark Rylance
Jasmine Trinca
Peter Franzén
Javier Bardem
DIRECTED BY:
Pierre Morel
RELEASE DATE:
March 20, 2015
DISTRIBUTED BY:
Open Road Films
RATED R (for strong violence, language and some sexuality)