In 2006, Pierre Morel directed “Taken,” which became a sleeper hit in part due to the surprise of dramatic actor Liam Neeson fitting snugly into the role of action hero. The story was personal and yet lean, the plot was simple, but engaging. The film had momentum and really didn’t stop. Which of course has led to not-so-stellar sequels and numerous copycats. Perhaps with “The Gunman” Morel can find his footing again and recreate the intense action we’ve come to known. Does he succeed? Well yes and no.
The story of the old rugged mercenary wanting out of the life after “one last job” is a tried and true formula for these types of films, and “Gunman” follows it step by step, maybe too closely. Sean Penn plays a mercenary named Terrier, even though you won’t really remember his name and refer to him only as Sean Penn. Which reflects on another issue of this movie, there are no real characters to care about or get invested, and the plot is predictable from beginning to end. With such a strong cast featuring Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, and Sean Penn, one would expect more defined roles and better performances, instead we just get standard. Not bad, but certainly not memorable.
The film often has wasted potential, such as when Sean Penn’s character is revealed to have some medical illness that affects his ability to physically function. Now this could have been used to give the character some drawbacks, limits, by making him vulnerable it leads to building tension and for us to actually root for the character. But even this device falls into the lap of convenience and so the audience never feels that connection, because they know no matter what situation Sean Penn falls into, he’ll come out ok.
Speaking of situations, one thing where the movie does deliver is the action sequences. It has its fair share of explosions, violence, gunfights, and close quarters combat. And that’s what people come to see this movie for, so in that respect, it succeeds. However, even though the action is abundant, it at times is not shot well. This movie falls into the “shaky cam” epidemic plaguing many action films today, and the fight scenes are edited with so many cuts it’s hard to see who’s fighting who or what’s going on.
“The Gunman” is the definition of standard post-Jason Bourne action films, hitting every generic checkpoint. While it had the potential to add more to make it at least somewhat unique it sticks like industrial adhesive to the formula.