Le tireur

THE GUNMAN is the latest action thriller from Pierre Morel, the French director who helmed the outstanding TAKEN and DISTRICT 13. Since then he wobbled a bit with FROM Paris WITH LOVE with its silly, jokey storyline, but he's back on form with this deadly serious international thriller that has much in common with the modern-day likes of the Swedish HAMILTON films.

The story is clichéd and predictable but the film delivers more than adequate thrills and some great action sequences. Sean Penn is a former assassin who's trying to find out which of his former colleagues has betrayed him and sent a hit squad to take him out. To make him a bit more vulnerable, he's studying from a rare form of concussion which makes him lose it every time his head gets knocked about.

THE GUNMAN is quite a lengthy film but it keeps you watching throughout and the location photography in the Congo and Barcelona is well handled. The supporting cast is also a good one with turns for reliably solid Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, and quite surprisingly Mark Rylance, who fits well into the genre despite being better known as a theatre actor. Sean Penn isn't my favourite guy around thanks to his outspoken political views but even I can admit he's a good choice for the part in this.

'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.

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".

Hit man Jim Terrier (Sean Penn) assassinates the Congo's Minister of Mines, leaves the country for 8-years, comes back to dig wells for the people and then he's targeted. Now he has to find out who is after him. Oh, and he suffers from PTSD. Let the games begin.

We normally don't see Sean Penn in this kind of action hero role. Maybe that is because Matt Damon hasn't done a Jason Bourne movie in a great while and others have to take up the slack. So the question is who will be the next Jason Bourne? HA !

What we have is a pretty good suspenseful thriller. Here's the thing: we are not sure if Jim Terrier will make it all the way as he gets banged up often. Yes, we are cringing and bandaging ourselves from time to time. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. The director gave us the suspense and tension all the way through, and we are not sure who Jim Terrier can trust of those who used to work with him back in the day. And his PTSD symptoms crop up at inopportune times (isn't that always the case?) and don't make things easy for him (indeed).

Notables: Javier Bardem as Felix; Ray Winstone as Stanley; Mark Rylance as Cox; and Idris Elba as Barnes. And then there is Jasmine Trinca as Annie, the love Jim Terrier left behind after the shooting of the Minister of Mines. She is nothing but beautiful (you falling in love again?) and she can act.

We do see some very good landscapes in London, the Congo and in Spain that also gave us a bullfight arena. No CGI as the fights were all real natural stunts and very cringe worthy (Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.) (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, at times.

When you hear a movie titled the Gunman what do you think of? For me I think of a few scenarios that come to mind: an action pack shoot em up movie, something on the lines of James Bond, or following down the rogue agent Bourne pathway. So I can't help but say I was excited for this movie this weekend, especially with Sean Penn leading the cast. With few trailers to give me insight, I eagerly headed to my local theater to give this film a try.

Unfortunately the movie did not go down the expected path, and even worse it took the wrong direction for this reviewer. For those uncertain of the plot, Gunman is about a sniper named Terrier who is targeted for assassination by an unknown group. In order to save himself and his loved ones, he must dig deep into a convoluted scheme that may related back to an incident. I know sounds awesome right, if old hat, but Gunman held some promise of action mixed in with good old fashioned spying.

Not the case my friends. Gunman is actually a snooze fest, being one of the first movies to make me nap in almost half a year. It starts with the pace of the movie, not necessarily too slow, but just enough that you start to lose interest. For me, it wasn't that the plot was boring, but the details they tried to lay out for us were very convoluted, many details ambiguous and confusing in their presentation. May of the scenes involved him obsessing over his former love, which after a few arguments and an unnecessary sex scene, started to grow staler than month old bread. Now don't get me wrong, convoluted plots can be a good thing, but they require a good presentation that keeps one engaged in the movie. And this film did not do it for me.

Perhaps I could have been entertained more if the action had lived up to my, I'll admit, high expectations. The opening shot scene was nothing special, but the following skirmish held some promise for excitement down the line. And in truth, two or three battles brought the flash in the pot, bang in your ear entertainment that I so crave. Despite being an elite shooter, Terrier didn't have perfect accuracy, and had to pull some creative stunts to take down his killers, who by the way could actually hit him. Taking away our hero's invincibility was a smart move, but some battles get led down the wrong path, or are a repeat of an earlier fight. Kills are graphic, the camera not shying away from someone's head getting a new hole, as torrents of red litter the ground. If you are up for this kind of stuff, then by all means stop reading this review and head down to the theater. Looking back over the movie though, I can't say the action was as on point or exciting as I had hoped, nor as fast as these scenes sometime need to be.

Helping save this movie from complete failure was the acting. Sean Penn as Terrier was good. The actor was able to transition across the emotional spectrum, being a relief worker with a little troublemaker streak to an angry killer on the loose. Penn has always had a talent for playing well developed characters, and while annoying as this role is, he still plays it well. Jasmine Trica as Annie was a decent addition to the cast, though I must say her character could have been much stronger than they made her. Trica's main talent involved huffing, puffing, and crying as people died. Her dialog was too shallow for me and they threw her as nothing but an object for Terrier to protect. Javier Barden brings his Hispanic background back to the screen, but his role was very short and unfortunately very sad as a love obsessed, drunk who loses his min. Not my favorite role, but again he does okay. As for Idris Elba, he is hardly in the film for fifteen minutes, really only to bring some "coded" advice and a means to end the movie. No offense Elba, but had you been tailing Penn for the whole movie, I might have boosted your score.

Special effects wise the editing worked for me in this movie. Stable camera angles and detailed fighting helped bring the action to life. The battlefields that became the stage for our fights were also beautiful, crafted or located in a variety of settings. Some were cool like a mansion, and others were ridiculous, like at a matador arena. Nevertheless we had an epic soundtrack to add some slight touches of excitement to the mix, as well as high definition pings, twacks, and booms to nearly deafen your ears. Unfortunately the team's cuts of the footage were nowhere near perfect for me, even though they were under the 2 hour mark. I don't know why they kept half of the dialog heavy scenes in, especially when they kept us going in circles. Oh what a waste of good film..

The Gunman is not the movie I expected it to be, and despite the assembled cast of actors, the potential is lost to fast production. With an overly ambiguous plot, and a pace that moves like a snail, the execution of this movie was below par. Those who are fans of extreme violence and profanity, as well as shots of poverty Africa are at home in this film, but otherwise skip this film for something better. A trip to the theater is not recommended from me, but we all know enough desire can make you see anything. Overall my scores for Gunman are:

Action/Crime/Drama: 6.5 Movie Overall: 5.5