The Gunman

An old-school action narrative with an added political agenda. Thoroughly enjoyable as Sean Penn plays a humanitarian, ex-marine globetrotter intent on finding out who is trying to kill him. We follow him as he offs bad guys, reignites an old flame, and suffers from head trauma. Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, and Idris Elba co-star, but sadly all three are underutilised, especially Elba, although his opening scene (which is about 20 minutes before end) is quite cool. Jasmine Trinca, as beautiful as she is, is relegated to a throwaway role as the unknowing, relies-on-her-man type broad.

Obviously this subject is very close to Sean Penn's heart. I believe he does a lot for charity, and he must also do a lot for his body. Jesus, what a cracking body the guy has. He looks military, which made it easier for Pierre Morel to focus on the technical side. While it doesn't reach the thrilling heights of Taken, it is much grander in scope and does excite with its brand of logical outwitting and mercenary shootouts. It is enjoyable for an action fanatic. It's a shame nobody seems interested in exploiting Penn as an action star as they did with Neeson (he's certainly better built for it).

B+

Sean Penn is 5' 8".

What difference does that make?

Stallone ain't much bigger.

Well like they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

And I wasn't referring to height..

So, only 1 person on WOKJ has seen this movie? (surprised)

Only 11 people in the entire continental United States saw this movie. The odds of one of those being a member of KJ are very slim.

LOL

I saw it in theaters and thought it was dreadfully boring.

This actually wasn't that bad. I went into it with super low expectations and came out pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it for the most part. The third act is a bit too rushed/muddled and the whole Alzheimer's subplot with Penn's character was unnecessary, but I didn't find the action scenes nearly as headache inducing as something like the Taken sequels and this definitely kicks Taken 3's ass. I liked how it got quite violent at times and Javier Bardem's death is especially pretty damn gruesome. I can see how some probably saw it as a vanity project for Penn, but that honestly didn't bother me since he looked more than capable in the action sequences due to him being in great shape. It's unfortunate that Winstone, Elba, and even Bardem are wasted, but I still had fun with it. It's no Taken, but not a bad way to spend an hour and half either.

An old-fashioned, very solid and stout action/espionage movie, undeserving of the critical scathing it received, which is hard not to interpret as punishment of a Very Serious Actor for venturing into more pulp-oriented terrain. But it turns out Sean Penn is a highly adept member of the 50-plus action-hero squad, even if audiences did not go for it. He is built and a very athletic presence, and he has a certain verisimilitude-enhancing aura of bruised determination, always lacing the well-shot chase sequences and never-too-over-the-top stunts with a bit of cynical exhaustion. His presence (as the star and as a co-writer) can also be sensed in the film's social conscience. While it is first and foremost a genre exercise, concerned with cars and bombs and guns and exotic locales, the film also has a mournful gravity and does not overly romanticize the mercenary world it depicts. A few flaws are undeniable—there are more talented actors on the screen than great roles in the screenplay, resulting in an unfortunate squandering of Idris Elba (who is billed second, but almost has a cameo) and, most unfortunately, Javier Bardem, who seethes and grimaces and gesticulates and devours the scenery while trying (and failing) to transcend his limited role—but I enjoyed this a great deal.

B+

Yeah! Nice review. Nobody says it better.