4/10

Sean Penn is just too good for this mess. That sentence is a reflection of his newest film titled “The Gunman”, in which he co-wrote and starred in. Penn (who just turned 50) is the latest to up the machismo and show the world that he (Like Neeson, Brosnon, Costner, Fill in the blank) too can be a gun holder for the “Over 50 action genre”. The film from Director Pierre Morel (Taken), is about a sniper (Penn) on a mercenary assassination team, who kills the minister of the mines of Congo. The assassin’s successful kill shot forces him into hiding. After Returning to the Congo years later, he becomes the target of a hit squad himself, who are hell bent on revenge. The film’s uninspired plot is just a fraction of the real problems facing this nearly two hour bore. The movie has solid action sequences, as well as great sound editing/mixing, but that is expected of such a genre. It never goes above and beyond to etch it’s name in an overcrowded genre. Instead, settling for mediocrity in the form of silly plot convenience, as well as laughable dialogue and line readings. The film also stars Javier Bardem, and Idris Elba. Both of which are wasted. Elba is in two scenes as an Interpol special forces agent, and the role feels like a last minute addition to carry a little star power. Bardem totally felt uninterested by this film. He (Like Penn) knows he should be working on much better material, and it shows in his lackluster line readings. There were plenty of times during the movie where his actions brought a giggle or two to my experience. For instance, Bardem ends up marrying a woman who Penn leaves behind when he goes into hiding. When Penn returns, he is pissed with Penn over leaving her, but why not arrange to have a dinner meeting between them. This of course leads to them sleeping together, but the real gem is that this happens on the very same night they reunite. She apparently held no ill will feelings towards Penn completely forgetting about her. It’s logic like this that kept me from every feeling fully intrigued by the film. The structure itself, i thought made for a worthwhile story. Complete with Penn inserting some real life footage of Congo citizens being forced out of their homes due to violent revoking of their rights. But the movie’s subplots are what really weighs the rhythm of the storytelling down. The film goes from a political thriller, to a love triangle, to small angles that were inserted earlier in the film. Penn’s character suffers from brain trauma, and this causes him to have blackouts and dizzyness in spots. This is mentioned once during the first ten minutes of the film, and never again until it’s convenient for the plot. It’s the same when we find out who the person is in charge of having Penn killed. It’s treated like it’s supposed to be a big mystery, but we only saw this person literally for one minute during the opening of the film. By this point in the film, i knew it wasn’t going to get any better, and this film was doomed to a lifetime similar to a crumbled up piece of paper in a wastebasket of scripts that never should’ve been given the time of day. “The Gunman” is a misfire of blanks that never comes close to hitting it’s target. Many early 2015 films should be forgotten, and this is among them.