The Gunman

The Gunman_360P

source: The Gunman

'THE GUNMAN': Four Stars (Out of Five) Another respectable (and very serious) A-list actor turns to B- action movies, very late in his career (and at over 50-years of age); following the likes of stars like Liam Neeson. It's probably no coincidence that the director of the film, Pierre Morel, also turned Neeson into an action film star (when he directed him to superstar success in 2008's 'TAKEN'). Penn also co-produced this movie (with none other than action master Joel Silver) and he also co-wrote the screenplay (with Don Macpherson and Pete Travis). The film also features other highly praised respectable A-list talent, in supporting roles; like Javier Bardem and Idris Elba. The movie has failed to do well at the Box Office (so far) though and it's also received mostly negative reviews from critics. I think it's a blast and a lot of fun though; if you like B-action movies! Penn plays Jim Terrier; a highly skilled mercenary assassin, working for an unnamed employer. On one job, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he's forced to kill the minister of mines there. He then must go into hiding; in order to protect himself and his team, and abandon his girlfriend, Annie (Jasmine Trinca). One of his team members, Felix (Bardem), helped orchestrate Terrier's role in the assignment; so that he could swoop in and steal Annie, for himself. Eight years later Terrier returns to the Congo; to work for a non- profit volunteer group there. He's almost killed by a hit squad though and realizes others, from his former team, are also probably in danger; as well as Annie. Terrier then goes on a deadly mission; to find out who was behind the attempt on his life, and save his ex- girlfriend. Sean Penn is in amazing shape, in this movie, especially at 54- years-old! He looks, and surprisingly acts, a lot like Sylvester Stallone (in this film). The whole movie, to me, feels a lot like a Stallone flick, with Penn in the lead instead. To me, that makes for a very fun film; to some though, that's the recipe for a really cheesy and bad movie. That's why this got mostly bad reviews, I think, and didn't do really well at the Box Office; Penn isn't an action movie star (that's for sure). It is really odd to see him doing a film like this; given his very serious attitude about politics, as well as film (in general). I love the idea of him starring in a movie like this though and I think this movie is really well made and entertaining; it's also really dark, graphically violent and pretty suspenseful (throughout). I can't believe actors like Bardem, Elba, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance also decided to join him in this venture! The movie is a lot of fun; if you love action flicks and the idea of Sean Penn starring in one! Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP0y3MxfaMM

The trailers were a bit deceiving. It looked like an action packed film, but it was a heavy political drama instead. Needless to say, I thought this movie was a mixed-bag. It has moments where it reels you in with some brilliant tension, but then loses your interest altogether by being overly talky and depressing. This movie is a pretty joyless movie that doesn't offer much in the way of entertainment. I'm extremely picky on political movies because they have a tendency to be really boring. This movie falls under that category. There is some action. I'll give Sean Penn credit for holding his own in that department. He looks buff and seems to be in pretty good shape, but he wasn't that convincing in the role of a tough guy. He does fine during the fights, but he felt out-of-place. I've definitely seen him do better. Javier Bardem is fun, but goes a bit OTT. He doesn't know when enough is enough. Idris Elba isn't in the movie as much as you may think. His part isn't much. Jasmine Trica isn't that great as the love interest. She's bland and didn't offer anything special. I didn't buy her romance with Penn. Winstone has presence and does fine his role. Mark Rylance makes a boring villain This movie is overlong, plodding, boring, and way too heavy-handed to fully succeed. It has its moments, but not nearly enough of them. Wait for cable, VOD, or Blu-Ray/DVD! Don't waste your money on it at a theater. 5.5/10

THE GUNMAN (2015) **1/2 SEAN PENN, JASMINE TRINCA, JAVIER BARDEM, RAY WINSTONE, MARK RYLANCE, IDRIS ELBA. Hit-and-miss globetrotting action drama about a former for hire sniper (Penn in all his world-weary, deadpanned stoicism) who discovers he's marked for execution years after a successful mission is uncovered and threatens not only his life but his former lover (exotique Trinca) and one of the men responsible for the deadly gig (Bardem low-key and having a field day as a sinister frienemy). While director Pierre Morel keeps things lively including some bad-ass hand-to-hand combat surprisingly well done by Penn (this is his first attempt at a genre flick) the screenplay by Don MacPherson and Pete Travis (based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Machete) is somewhat flat-footed and predictable. Still all in all it's kind of cool to see Jeff Spicoli snap a would-be assassin's neck like a stalk of celery.

What a wonderful movie, never seen action movie like this, we love "sean Penn" since "state of grace" bravo "Penn", hopefully this movie become the greatest ever, watch this movie and you don't want left your chair, and expected many times will see this movie again, let's go together going to your nearest cinema and feel the spirit of bravery, every man in this world want to see this movie. The whole Human in this planet want to see this one, no matter you are men or women you will like this movie. My brother said "more action and thriller" My Nephew said "Slow but deadly", when we seen this Movie, all the audience surprised, and want to see again

Some performances were better than others, the ultimate goal of the movie took forever to get off the ground (like the first half)... I miss the old Sean Penn who took roles displaying his raw talent over these emotionally enriched character development stories which quite frankly come off as emotionally supercharged in my book. The film has some good shootout sequences and Javier Bardem is a joy to watch but the story just isn't there for any kind of connection to the rest of the characters, I'm kind of surprised this emo-fest wasn't the brainchild of Clint Eastwood to begin with. What action sequences there are well done but there are far too few for a movie called "The Gunman".

From start to finish, this movie was out of sorts. It couldn't build up a head of steam and thus in the process failed to deliver any sort of impact. Javier Bardem was on point in his brief cameo, and even Sean Penn managed to pull off the traditionally burly action hero enigma, but everything else was frail and flavorless. I usually watch my movies with concentration, but this one was hard to pay attention to, thus I allowed myself some shut eye in between. The protagonist's motive to fight was not strong, and things were happening too conveniently for my liking. The action sequences were somewhat realistic, and the cinematography was nice. But that's almost it. Pretty disappointing.

'The Gunman' opens with the BBC footage that civil war has erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo between rebel militia and governmental forces locked in a bloody civil war for the control of the country's prized natural resources. Enter Jim Terrier (Sean Penn), a NGO worker providing security while an airstrip is being built. In the middle of chaotic Congo, Jim has fallen in love with Annie (Jasmine Trinca), a Doctors Without Borders volunteer. Annie has attracted the heart of not only Jim but also co worker Felix (Javier Bardem). Felix's jealousy is readily apparent and can only spell disaster for Jim and Annie's relationship. Only a few minutes into the film we discover that both Jim and Feliz are living dual lives. Jim is a hired assassin for a multinational mining company, which is set on protecting their interests in the war torn Congo. Felix is the civil liaison for the foreign mining companies and Sean Penn's assassin team. When the Minister of Mining in the Congo nullifies all mining contracts with foreign companies, Jim is activated by his employer who wants the politician assassinated. The team of four assassins is lead by Cox (Mark Rylance) who announces to his sharp shooters that Felix will decide which of the assassins will take the fatal shot and then said assassin will have to flee the continent immediately after. No surprise Felix chooses Jim to take the shot and having accomplished the mission, Jim is forced to leave Africa and Annie without so much as a goodbye. 8 years later Jim has reunited with the African continent as a UNICEF employee drilling wells when suddenly his past assassination comes back to haunt him. For the next hour and a half, Jim must circumvent Europe to track down who has knowledge of his past deeds and understand why he is wanted dead. Without giving any spoilers, the reason 'The Gunman'never gets off the ground is because the film is unable to sustain any intrigue. Jim is a glorified henchman for a multinational corporation, he is hardly the hero that you want to root for. Jim's character is drawn so thin you know very little about him to care enough whether he lives or dies. Additionally his relationship with Annie earns so little screen time before being abruptly halted that you invest almost nothing in the possibilities of Jim and Annie rekindling at some later date. The questions that Jim seeks answer to could have easily been solved with a couple phone calls, but instead his contacts send him on a treasure hunt around Europe. Apparently the information Jim needs is only accessible with a change of location at each turn. Each new venue invites its share of killers and combat. While Jim is on his mission for answers, we catch wind that Interpol, headed by Idris Elba, has Jim on their surveillance. Interpol seems one step ahead of Jim in terms of solving the puzzle, however they are convinced Jim is the linchpin to cracking the case. The final act of the movie is very predictable not to mention familiar and even a bit silly. Sean Penn's physique in the film is impressive and we are constantly reminded how much the actor got in shape for the role considering how much screen time his giant biceps earn. There are hardly any production credits that are distinguishable and worth mentioning here. Ultimately, the film underwhelms and feels like it wants to cash in on the fan base of the retired Bourne franchise.

I don't think I ever saw Sean Penn do an action movie. Not sure if he's at that point in his career were he does not care or he just feels he can't be a well diverse actor without having this on his resume. Either way he does a good performance as one, and was impressively built but not overdone for the role. The movie does go over some political satire with his character playing a Metaphor of the guilt we all should all feel about our own involvement in what's going on in the Congo. Guess he felt this will be a better way to spread his word to the masses. Penn was wrong about that. I got very little from this flick. Although the movie is mostly laid with espionage and sprinkled with action, neither elements got my pulse pounding. Javier Barton is good in this movie. He's a great actor and it's fun to see him on the big screen as Penn's rival for the affections of a woman. But if you are fans of Idris Elba, like I am, don't let his top billing fool you. He's barely in it, and his role does nothing to help the film. I like the film but I snoozed though it. Penn brought nothing new to the genre and I was hoping he would but he did not. Catch on DVD.