Written by / 3/20/2015 / No comments / , , ,

SEAN PENN STARRING IN THE GUNMAN

year: 2015 rating: **
Seems odd Sean Penn would want to go high-octane mainstream on us. Or that the TAKEN director would gamble this particularly risky leading man for a weekend action thriller. But the opening credits may shed some light on the matter since Penn co-scripted (based on a novel) and produced THE GUNMAN… Could it be that Pierre Morel was Sean's personal choice to direct a familiar story about a resilient American professional, working overseas, turned straight and (most likely) hunted by the people he worked for?

To fit within Penn’s personal niche, there’s a backdrop of politics having to do with aiding an impoverished nation; idealist by day, killing machine by night. And yet Penn’s Terrier (not his dog, that’s his name) is only half into the job. One quick scene shows the titular assassin taking out a prime figurehead in the Congo, where his otherwise vicious heart genuinely bleeds for the cause and, most important, he has a beautiful local girlfriend, which makes it harder to vanish after the job's done – leading to an attempt on his life followed by several action sequences highlighting our man’s ability to get out of any painted corner: Meanwhile, Steamy bedroom sequences exploit Penn’s muscular build, contrasting to a thoroughly aged, map-lined face with enough visible mileage for the gritty occupation to seem believable, and his former cohorts... lovably tough Ray Winstone aside... are so Capitalist-crooked and predictably double-crossing, it’s no wonder he wanted out in the first place. But the big problem is: we never venture far enough into that much-discussed sordid past for the desperation of the present time to mean anything.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON IN 'THE MIRROR CRACK'D'

Title: THE MIRROR CRACK'D Year: 1980 Director: Guy Hamilton Rating: ***1/2 The most breezily enjoyable of the John Brabourne/Richard Goo...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "This is just like television, only you can see much further." Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardener, Being There

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 10)THE CROWDED SKY 11))THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)JOURNEY INTO FEAR 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE ROARING TWENTIES 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE