Peppermint

First Hit: I enjoy a well-acted and thoughtful revenge film and this one fits the bill.

Riley North (Jennifer Garner), her husband Chris (Jeff Hephner) and their daughter Carly (Calley Fleming) are a happy family except money is always an issue. Chris and  his co-worker Mickey (Chris Johnson) hatch a plan to steal a drug dealers loot. But Chris thinks twice and calls Mickey to tell him he wants out, that he cannot risk himself and his family's well being.

However, the dealer learns of the plot, kills Mickey and sends gang-bangers to kill Chris. They find Chris with his family enjoying an amusement park for Carly's birthday. When they kill Chris they do it with automatic weapons and not only kill Chris, they kill Carly and Riley is shot and injured. After mourning her family and getting nowhere with the police investigation, she disappears for five years. Riley leaves the country and upon her return, she’s transformed herself from supportive housewife to killing machine. While away she's learned martial arts, how to stalk people, how to kill with guns and her bare hands, and new she's back and wants revenge on the whole gang who killed her family.

The police and FBI pick up on the trail of bodies she leaves behind, including the three bodies hanging upside-down on the Ferris wheel at the amusement park where she was shot and her husband and daughter died five years earlier.

Riley is being hunted by the FBI, L.A. Police Department, and the gang. Will she win in the end? What price will she be willing to pay?

Garner is fantastic as Riley, a revenge filled killing machine. Her skills in body movement, and the belief in her eyes, had me rooting for her all the way. Hephner was good in his small role. Fleming was excellent in her role as well. Juan Pablo Raba as drug lord Diego Garcia was very strong. John Gallagher Jr. as Detective Stan Carmichael was excellent. John Ortiz as a seasoned Detective Moises Beltran was perfect. Annie Ilonzeh as FBI Agent Lisa Inman was very good. Chad St. John wrote a strong revenge script. It was this script, Garner’s acting and Pierre Morel’s direction that made it all work.

Overall: This was a excellent revenge film and sometimes a woman’s revenge is best.

The Gunman

First Hit:  This film tries to be interesting and fails.

Using the politics of forced mining in the Congo as a backdrop, what the story is about is how a man slowly comes to grips with his killing past. What is unfortunate is that using this and his redemptive actions of drilling for clean water to make Terrier (Sean Penn) someone we care about failed.

I did not care one iota about Terrier’s self-redemption. Walking into the theater I expected to sit through a bunch of scenes of people shooting (and missing) at each other but for it to be so poorly done was disappointing. True to Penn’s own publicly pushed political stance – there are scenes where he’s the good guy, however, he’ll do anything to keep himself and his girlfriend Annie (Jasmine Trinca) alive and shooting people is what he resorts to doing. He continues to state that he's got no choice.

Javier Bardem, as Terrier's co-worker Felix, was a poorly created and acted character. He’s required to be extremely jealous and a drunk, and neither of these were done well. At least 3 times during the film, I was sat there thinking, I just wanted this movie to be over.

The best part of Penn’s performance was that he was in great physical shape but to have him smoking in so many scenes is downright stupid. His character didn’t need it. Trinca was OK and although she exemplified being a good person in love with someone who has a history of killing people for money, she rose above the stupidity of this film and delivered what she could. Bardem was a wasted talent in this role. Ray Winstone as Stanley, Terrier’s only true friend, was strong in his supporting role. He was the only bright light in this film. Don MacPherson wrote this mess and Pierre Morel did his best to shoot this film in an interesting way.

Overall:  Poor story, poor acting, and lousy characters make for a waste of time.

Taken

First Hit: This is a no bones about it film. You know the plot, you know the ending, and it is well done.

Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills a retired CIA operative who was a “preventer” which meant he prevented major world issues from happening while in the service for his country.

His job took him all over the world and therefore he wasn’t home much. He missed being with his daughter Kim (played by Maggie Grace) and therefore as she turns 17 years old, he wants to recapture what he lost, so he retires and moves to be near his daughter and hopefully rekindle his relationship with her.

His former wife and daughter ask him to sign a form allowing her to travel to Europe which is customary in divorce cases when the child is under 18. Him being the ever cautious person because of his former life gives her an international cell phone and asks her to call every night.

When he speaks with her the first time, it so happens that her roommate is being abducted and she is about to be abducted. Liam heads to Paris to find his daughter and save her from her abductees.

The director Pierre Morel kept this film under control the whole way. Liam played to his strengths and wasn't trying to be someone he wasn’t (like romancing someone half his age). The crooks were mean and dark enough and I loved the guy sitting at the table when Liam enters the compound where girls, like his daughter, are kept. This guy had that look that said “I’m bad, I know I’m bad, you know I’m bad and I don’t need to say a thing.”

Overall: This a straightforward adventure thriller and it works because the scenes are crisp, tight and clear. There is little confusion in this film and it is simply one to sit back and enjoy.