Review of The Gunman (2015) by Scrawnypunk — 23 Mar 2015
Remember that time Matthew Fox was in that Roshamon rip-off set in Spain? Or that time that they remade The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 for some reason? No? That's a shame, because either is more memorable than this late-career paycheck for Sean Penn. In a loving ode to both Safe House and the Constant Gardner (that's what they did, right?...intentionally combined the most boring parts of these movies to cinematic test of fortitude for the casual observer), Sean Penn gallops around the world kicking all sorts of bad-guy-butt like only a 54-year-old can do these days. Somebody done him wrong...and they're about to get theirs once he figures it out.
The positives - the actors are top-notch (and committed to their roles), the scenery is quite lovely, and the film is not (as I suspected about half-way through) 4 hours long. The negatives - boring, derivative, falsely preachy, and saddled with the worst dialog I have seen since Attack of the Clones.
On the bright side, Sean Penn is extra bulked up. Which made me think...if he can look like that at his age, then I definitely can. I'm hitting the gym tonight and my wife will thank me for it in a year or so. So thanks for that, Mr. Penn. Sorry you had to melt your guns for your new lady, since it looks like you must have really missed them after making this movie.
This review of The Gunman (2015) was written by Scrawnypunk on 23 Mar 2015.
The Gunman has generally received mixed reviews.
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