Mar 27,2015
Film: "The Gunman"; Director: Pierre Morel; Cast: Sean Penn, Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, Idris Elba and Mark Rylance; Rating: **1/2
Drafted as a thriller with a love triangle thrown in, "The Gunman" is the tale of an ex-assassin in hiding, who is now being hunted.
In a brief prologue dated 2006, the film opens in Kinshasa in the Congo. A news bulletin reveals how large corporations were seeking control of the natural resources in poor and impoverished countries.
During that phase, in what was referred to as Project Calgary, Jim Terrier (Sean Penn) working for the corporate, assassinates the mining minister of Congo. Then, on the advice of his best friend and partner in crime Felix (Javier Bardem), he leaves behind his girl-friend Annie (Jasmine Trinca) and flees the country.
Eight years later, Jim works for an NGO in a coastal area amidst tight security, when all of a sudden men with arms land up where he works. On realising that they were specifically looking for him, he sets out on a mission to find out who is hunting him.
He travels from Africa to London to Barcelona catching up with old friends, trying to solve this mystery as to who wants him killed. And during the course of the narration it is revealed that Terrier suffers from memory loss, depression and head trauma.
Packed with cliches picked up from "Memento", "Enemy of the State", "The Counselor" and "The Expendables" along with impulsive digressions, dubious characters and gaping plot-holes, the script lacks the bite of a wholesome fresh thriller.
Directed by Pierre Morel who had earlier delivered "District 13", "Taken" and "From Paris With Love", this film is based on the novel "The Prone Gunman", by French writer Jean-Patrick Manchette.
Even though the film has an impressive cast line-up offering a great mix of acting styles and accents, wonderful locations with some arresting moments and some highly stylised action sequences, the film fails to impress.
The entire setup seems contrived and a re-launchpad for the ageing Sean Penn.
With a well-chiselled physique, Penn's Terrier flings his shirt at the drop of a hat, smokes like a chimney and kills in retaliation. He traverses a morally complicated past like a zombie and the script fails to explain how he got into the mess in the very first time or the motive of eliminating him after a lapse of so many years.
As for his performance, Penn, with his attitude on his sleeve, sleepwalks through his character, making it difficult to relate to him.
The screen comes alive with the quirky histrionics of Javier Bardem, Jasmine Trinca and Ray Winstone, who plays Terrier's friend the helpful friend Stanley.
Mark Rylance as Terrier's other estranged colleague Cox is functional as the other bad guy. And, Idris Elba as the Interpol Agent is wasted.
Overall, "The Gunman" shoots off-target!
May 15,2024
Janhvi Kapoor is creating buzz about her upcoming film 'Mr. and Mrs. Mahi'. This film is going to be released this month. The actress will be seen sharing the screen with Rajkummar Rao in the film. Both the stars are busy promoting the film. Janhvi Kapoor has worked h
May 15,2024
Bollywood's 'Dhak-Dhak Girl' i.e. Madhuri Dixit is celebrating her 57th birthday today 15th May. On this special day, everyone from his fans to Bollywood celebs is congratulating him on his birthday. This list includes many stars including Kajol, Farah Khan, Jackie Shroff, and
May 15,2024
Rajkummar Rao's recent release 'Srikanth' received positive responses from the audience and critics. 'Srikanth' attracted the audience in theaters also. The film is based on the life of blind industrialist Srikant Bolla, with Rajkummar Rao playing the role of Srikant. Along
May 01,2024
Imtiaz Ali's film 'Amar Singh Chamkila' has been liked very much by the audience. Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra have appeared in important roles in the film. The story of Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur is shown in the film. Now recently, after t
May 01,2024
Ranbir Kapoor's film 'Ramayana' continues to be in the headlines. The actor has geared up to fit into the role of Shri Ram. Along with diction, he is also working hard on physics. The names and looks of some actors from the film 'Ramayana' have been revealed. Lara's look from 'Rama
May 01,2024
The trend of deepfake videos is not stopping. A few days ago, a deepfake video of Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh went viral. Now AI produced video of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is going viral. In this fake video, Katrina is seen speaking fluent French. K
May 01,2024
We cannot teach Hindi language and traditions, for this, you will have to go to Hiramandi (the courtesan area in Lahore). Qudsia Begum (Farida Jalal) says this to her grandson Tajdar (Taha Shah) who has returned from studies in London in a scene of the first episode. We can
May 01,2024
Makarand Deshpande is making headlines these days for his film 'Monkey Man'. In this film, he will be seen sharing the screen with Dev Patel. Recently, during an interview, Makrand was seen remembering the old days. He also shared many interesting stories
May 01,2024
May 01,2024
Apr 25,2024
Apr 25,2024
Apr 25,2024
© filmbees.com. All Rights Reserved.