Director: Pierre Morel Starring: Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Jasmine Trinca, Ray Winstone Writers: Don MacPherson, Pete Travis, Sean Penn | 2/5 The Gunman Turns out, respected dramatic actor Sean Penn is jonesing for al little bit of that Neeson action. How can he cash in on that audience eager to see older male stars kicking butt without losing his acclaim? Step 1: Hire Taken director Pierre Morel. Step 2: Make sure you remind everyone how socially conscious you are by injecting your shoot-em-up with a thick coat of commentary. It seems like a winning plan…except that it’s not. Under that thin coat lies the qualities of every other generic Neeson-era action film: world-weary hero who has made a bunch of mistakes, a love interest just out of his reach, a couple twists you see coming a mile away, bad guys eager to take the hero down for some cloudy reason, and a loaded handgun ready to blow away any opposition. Boring. Seen it. Our weary hero is Jim Terrier (Penn), an ex-mercenary sniper. After shooting a Congolese businessman whose plan conflicted with the interest’s of his employers, Jim is forced to leave his exotic girlfriend and accept the fact that she’s probably going to end up with a jealous business rival played by Javier Bardem - shamefully, the filmmakers have no idea what to do with Italian actress Jasmine Trinca or her character. Fast forward eight years, throw in a few beautiful foreign countries, and so begins the movie we have seen time and time again. Jim is out to get the man who burned him and reclaim his girl. |
If you can get past the subtle scent of self-riotousness, Penn’s intentions to weave an important cause into Gunman is well-minded. The actor helped write the script, along with Don MacPherson and Pete Travis; and you can imagine, based on Penn’s known social activism, that he contributed the “important” parts. If that be the case, then he was not writing long. The film opens with some tacked-on news footage that sets the stage for film’s backdrop: Western interference in the Congo, most notably the drilling sector. After that first few minutes, Gunman sheds its noble skin and reveals to us what it truly is. Morel obviously does not know what to do with the social messages, but what he can do he does efficiently and effectively. I almost wish Penn would have just let the director do what he does best and save the Congo stuff for a different drama.
The movie expects you to keep up with an amount of details that would not feel out of place in a intrigue-spy drama; but when it comes time to reward the viewers diligence, it only gives you cheap shootouts and tired fist fights. The story jumps around from the Congo, London, Barcelona, and Gibraltar, each location piling on a heap of new information and a bunch of new faces that you are supposed to be keeping track of.
The characters are so forgettable that even when you see them a second and a third time, it feels like you are meeting them anew. I could only keep track of the characters played by the more famous actors, and that was only due to their recognizable faces. Throughout the journey, we run into Ray Winstone, Idris Elba, and the aforementioned Bardem. I would not be able to tell you a thing about Winstone or Elba’s character, and I just say the film about an hour ago. Bardem comes the closest to hinting at the campy shooter the movie could have been. He chews the scenery in a delightful way that Penn stays away from. Taken became such a big hit on the shoulders of Liam Neeson’s burly charisma. I’m a Sean Penn fan, but he is just not appealing at all in this film. He has some unnervingly bulgy biceps and that’s about it.
On top of all this, we are supposed to care about a random subplot concerning a terminal illness that causes Jim to forget things and get dizzy during climactic moments. He stumbles his way through every fight, barely conscious. In one scene, he huffs ammonia just to stay alert. What’s the purpose of all this? Jim comes out dominant in every brawl, despite his inability to stand or hold his eyes open. Is this trying to say “just imagine what this guy can do at 100%. Stay tuned and find out…” Lord, let’s hope not.
p.s. If you are truly interested in the plight faced by the Congolese people, watch the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary Virunga. It is more coherent, dramatically tense, informative, and emotionally resonant.
The movie expects you to keep up with an amount of details that would not feel out of place in a intrigue-spy drama; but when it comes time to reward the viewers diligence, it only gives you cheap shootouts and tired fist fights. The story jumps around from the Congo, London, Barcelona, and Gibraltar, each location piling on a heap of new information and a bunch of new faces that you are supposed to be keeping track of.
The characters are so forgettable that even when you see them a second and a third time, it feels like you are meeting them anew. I could only keep track of the characters played by the more famous actors, and that was only due to their recognizable faces. Throughout the journey, we run into Ray Winstone, Idris Elba, and the aforementioned Bardem. I would not be able to tell you a thing about Winstone or Elba’s character, and I just say the film about an hour ago. Bardem comes the closest to hinting at the campy shooter the movie could have been. He chews the scenery in a delightful way that Penn stays away from. Taken became such a big hit on the shoulders of Liam Neeson’s burly charisma. I’m a Sean Penn fan, but he is just not appealing at all in this film. He has some unnervingly bulgy biceps and that’s about it.
On top of all this, we are supposed to care about a random subplot concerning a terminal illness that causes Jim to forget things and get dizzy during climactic moments. He stumbles his way through every fight, barely conscious. In one scene, he huffs ammonia just to stay alert. What’s the purpose of all this? Jim comes out dominant in every brawl, despite his inability to stand or hold his eyes open. Is this trying to say “just imagine what this guy can do at 100%. Stay tuned and find out…” Lord, let’s hope not.
p.s. If you are truly interested in the plight faced by the Congolese people, watch the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary Virunga. It is more coherent, dramatically tense, informative, and emotionally resonant.