Review of The Gunman (2015) by Leon B — 03 Jan 2016

Review:

Although this movie is full of intense drama and loads of gun tooting action, I personally didn't think that the film was that good. All of the actors put in a good performance but I didn't find the storyline interesting or entertaining. Its about a bunch of contract killers who take on a job to kill the minister of mines in the congo. As  Sean Penn's character is the man to pull the trigger, he has to flee the congo, leaving behind his girlfriend who he truly loves. After keeping low for 8 years, Terrier (Penn) and his fellow villagers get randomly attacked by a group of thugs so he uses his killer instinct to save his life and his friends. He then realises that the attack wasn't random at all and that the thugs were specifically coming after him so he goes to see his old crew members to see if any of the information about there previous job had been leaked. After finding out that his ex-girlfriend is with his old work colleague, who he trusted to look after her, he also gets murdered and Penn ends up on the run again but now with his loved one. When he finally puts all the pieces together he realises that the whole crew who done the Congo job were being destroyed so none of the information would be leaked and he is the last man standing against the authorities who planned the job in the first place. Sounds interesting but it really wasn't that great. Its just 2 hours of watching Sean Penn on the run with his girlfriend, with a bit of action along the way. There wasn't much depth to any of the characters and the interesting ones, like Ray Winstone and Idris Elba, only popped in the movie for 5 minutes. I also didn't understand why the A Class marksman didn't just take out the baddie from a rooftop! Anyway, I'm usually a fan of Sean Penn films but this one could have done with a rewrite. On the plus side, I was impressed with Penns fighting skills and you can see that he obviously pumped up for the role but it wasn't enough to make the film interesting. Watchable but not that great.

Round-Up:

I can definitely see were the budget went in this movie because the attention to detail was quite good and it was filmed I'm in various countries but I was still disappointed with the outcome. At 54 years old, Sean Penn looked extremely fit for his age and he did pull of some great stunts but he only comes out with a film every now and again so I did have high expectations for this film. He made a small appearance in the Secret Life Of Walter Mitty a couple of years ago, along with Gangster Squad which made a healthy profit at the box office but this movie really didn't go down well in the cinema. He's only made about 50 movies in his career but he always gives his roles his all which has made him a bankable star in Hollywood. The film was directed by Pierre Morel who brought you District 13, Taken and From Paris With Love so he's not new to the action movie genre. He did make the action scenes seem real but he should have given the script some more attention. .

Budget: $40million.

Worldwide Gross: $15.5million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/dramas about a contract killer who ends up on the run from an elite squad after killing the minister of mines in the Congo. 4/10.