The Gunman

Allmost skipped this one because of the low rating (5,8?). I actually liked it a lot. Good story, good acting and action!

In the same grain as "The American" and "The International", "THE (notice a trend?) Gunman" is a international thriller/action. Where the former 2 films focus more on the thrill, and are overall failures, Gunman is more action, and much more entertaining. If you are looking for a fairly low commitment to a 'smart' action movie, then you can do worse.

In 2006, Terrier (Penn) works for a global corporation (that might as well be called Umbrella Corporation) and is asked to kill a high ranking diplomat. The movie then skips ahead to the present where Terrier is not being chased down by unknown assailants. Nothing original there.

Terrier (Penn) is a likable character. Penn tends to be an actor your either hate or love, but he is does a good job as a grittier, more realistic Jason Borne. The movie ties to humanize him, but that side plot is mostly a thud. After Penn, the cast is stellar - however underutilized. It really is the peak of 'hey that guy' British actors. Unfortunately, Elba who gets second billing is in the movie for 2 scenes total and less than 3 minutes screen time, a role that has so little to it that I might as well have played the character. Winstone and Bardem exist, but their talent is mostly wasted.

The movie is a step sideways from a classic action movie. If you like the Borne series and its fast paced action you likely won't enjoy the more 'realistic' violence of "The Gunman". Unfortunately, if you are not interested in the Borne series, this likely won't be of any more interest. I give the movie a 7, because I enjoyed it. It is far from perfect, I feel the movie definitely 'left sometime on the table' in terms of directing and acting, it misses often in character development, and the movie kind of devolves into cliché, but there is enough substance to watch.

Based on the novel The Prone Gunman, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, 'The Gunman' is a decent action-thriller, that's engaging, but only in parts. While the action has sharpness to it, the thriller aspect doesn't entirely work.

'The Gunman' Synopsis: A sniper on a mercenary assassination team, kills the minister of mines of the Congo. Terrier's successful kill shot forces him into hiding. Returning to the Congo years later, he becomes the target of a hit squad himself.

'The Gunman' begins with force, but loses momentum mid-way. I wasn't rooting for the hero on the run, after a point. Also, the identity of the culprit, lacks the bite & offers no shock value. Its predictable to the core. But, the action-sequences work! Not only are they sharply choreographed & executed, they also lend toughness to the narrative.

Don Macpherson, Pete Travis & Sean Penn's Screenplay is okay. Though it isn't without merit, it still isn't powerful enough. Pierre Morel's Direction is stylish. Cinematography is impressive. Editing is ordinary. Marco Beltrami's Score is fine.

Performance-Wise: Sean Penn delivers a committed performance, yet again! He enacts the protagonist with complete honesty & his striking physique stands out. He looks terrific here! Jasmine Trinca is nicely restrained. Javier Bardem looks jaded & least interested in the goings-on. Ray Winstone is, as always, competent. Mark Rylance is fair. Idris Elba is wasted.

On the whole, 'The Gunman' is a so-so fare.

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".

I was pleasantly surprised by this film given the negative reception that it had received.

For the most part, the acting ranges from serviceable to good. Sean Penn falls in the latter, as he embodies the typical action hero role in a believable manner. Jasmine Trinca is okay, though to be fair it's not like she's given much to work with from the script. And Javier Bardem has a lot of fun with the role, though at times his acting is more theatrical, and seems like it should be in a different movie. And to those who wish to see the movie solely due to Idris Elba, I have to warn you he's in the movie for about a total of 10 minutes.

The characters aren't particularly deep, and they most certainly all fall within clichés (ex. killer who regrets his past and is trying to make amends), however for the most part I found the characters to be entertaining. Annie was the weakest character as the stereotypical love interest, which hurts the movie as it wants the audience to care about the relationship between her and Terrier.

Just as the characters are all that well fleshed out, neither is the story. It's pretty basic and easy to follow, and the movie goes along the familiar beats of the genre. At first I hated a certain plot point concerning a certain character's head trauma, but it ended up making for a more interesting movie as it helped make a character less invincible and also has a vital affect on the story.

The action is well done, with it being pretty easy to follow and nice to look at. It's not too bombastic, and consist more of hand-to-hand combat, surprise attacks, and use of the environment. I found it very refreshing how both the protagonist and antagonist utilized the environment, as it made the action more interesting and exciting to watch. Terrier also isn't a one man wrecking crew killing 30 guys with no effort; he dispatches some easily, but as the movie goes on, there are times when he meets an equal and is harmed. At the beginning the fights have a bit of shaky cam to them, but that quickly goes away, which ends up working in the movie's favor.

Despite the very standard characters and plot, I had a fun time with this movie. I'd certainly recommend it for anyone who's a huge fan of action, as it's a good way to past the time and have some fun.