Review of The Gunman (2015) by Quincytheodore — 30 Mar 2015

Good production on the vistas and action sequences, but lackluster story and imprecise use of the veteran actors hamper the movie. With credible cast touring different memorable cities, the film is visually engaging for most of the time. It also delivers a couple of devastating action choreography of Bourne level. However, it trudges through bland story of stereotypical espionage and uninteresting romance. While the collective acting prowess is barely able to keep the film interesting, these experienced actors surprisingly don't perform consistently enough to fully maximize their potential.

Story follows Terrier (Sean Penn), a secret operative who fled an African country after an assassination. Years later this come back to haunt as someone cleans up everyone who are involved of said assassination. Strangely, the thriller invests majority of the content for romance subplot between Terrier and Annie (Jasmine Trinca), the ex-lover who might still harbor feelings. These two don't have a lot of chemistry. Their characters are plain and one-dimensional, a rugged volatile man and his static wooden love interest.

It also creates needless love triangle plot that offers nothing but awkwardness, audience will know what to expect and still cringe at the execution. Credit to Javier Bardem as Felix, the love adversary of Terrier. He delivers the best performance with his enigmatic yet not-so-charismatic role. His character here might not be supremely likeable nor does he have lengthy appearance, but he's fascinating in every scene he graces. Idris Elba is always engaging, but he only makes brief appearance, even shorter than Bardem.

The bulk of the film rests on Sean Penn, who is undeniably a good actor and looking physically fit for this role, although he doesn't seem to be comfortable here. This kind of ex-special force gimmick isn't his forte and the way he interacts with Trinca's Annie is rigid. These two just don't mesh together, despite numerous erotic scenes. Penn is looking anguished or tormented while Trinca is all sad and confused all the time. It's just odd, and to make matter worse, their relationship is supposed to be the heart of the film.

Penn does better with the action. The movie has cool cinematography and choreography. It spans throughout many cities, which are portrayed with decent amount of flamboyant touches for their signature looks. Set pieces transition well, the film moves nicely when it's not encumbered by the banter. Action is produced with significant effort, they are fast and precise, exceptionally thrilling when strikes or bullets landed.

Unfortunately, the film also overreaches with political undertone. Its message might be more welcomed if it could at least make the audience relate to the core characters. The Gunman offers shooting spree across exotic places aplenty, but with such caliber cast, it could've been more than just an average spy thriller.