Right off the bat I want to express that I do not believe this film is better or just as great as the first Taken film. I'm giving it a 8 out of 10 simply because I'm going to rate it at least a 7.5 out of 10, meaning I have to round up. Lets be honest, the first Taken movie didn't have a fabulous story, and neither does this. The action in this film though is very impress and kept me more than entertained for the nearly two hour run time. Since the director of the first Taken film directed this movie, you should know the action scenes will be great. They were, and I found myself loving this film. The following is my review of The Gunman.
The Gunman was written by Don MacPherson, with the screenplay by Pete Travis. The story is based on the novel "The Prone Gunman" written by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I have never read this novel, so that let sink in now. Don MacPherson is known for writing the 1998 Avengers film(a film that has nothing to do with the Marvel Avengers films). This is actually his first writing credit on a film since that Avengers film way back in 1998. The saving grace if you will has to be Pete Travis, who is well known for the cult hit Dredd which was released back in 2012. He also wrote Endgame and Vantage Point before that. The story itself follows Terrier(Sean Penn) who we first see on a mission to kill the a leader in the Congo. The film really starts cooking when years later his team in hunted down, but Terrier doesn't know by whom. He goes on a mission to find out as he was once already targeted. The story is fairly simple as you can tell from my easy breakdown of it. Though the story seems average at best, it actually works out very well since Sean Penn delivers an amazing performance. The film opens itself up for tons of great action scenes, and that is the reason most would even be interested in this movie. With some well written characters the story is solid, and an all around good effort.
The Gunman was directed by Pierre Morel, who as I mentioned in my opening paragraph directed the first Taken film, he also directed From Paris with Love, and did some work on the Transporter series. The guy knows how to direct some fabulous action scenes, and this is clearly the case in this film. While the story calls for some extra downtime over the course of the nearly two hour film, with the great cast of actors, this flies by nicely and adds a nice aspect to the film. The film stars Sean Penn with other actors like Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, and Idris Elba popping in throughout the film as well. This is a Sean Penn film, and he really does carry the film. When the film switches back to the actions scenes, the film overall is flooded with some great action sequences and some brutal violence. The bigger action scenes look amazing with Morel behind the camera, and his experience really helps on this film. Morel and the amazing cast of actors do a fabulous job in this film, and is truly an excellent action movie.
The film was composed by Marco Beltrami, who is known for composing such films as Snowpiercer, The November Man, The Drop, and even composed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines way back in 2003. His effort on The Gunman is nothing short of great. I found myself really enjoying his overall work from start to finish, especially in the bigger action scenes. This will certainly be a score I listen to over again in the near future. Fans of Beltrami's work will not be disappointed, and leaves all fans wanting more.
In closing, The Gunman is a violent action film with amazing action scenes. My biggest complaint would be the story, though it is not bad given the type of film they set out to make, which is an action film similar to Taken. Action movie fans should for the most part enjoy this film, and I highly recommend you seeing this film in theaters. If you happen to be worried about the quality of the film, seeing it at a matinée showing would be your best best, but do not miss this film.
7.8/10
The Gunman was written by Don MacPherson, with the screenplay by Pete Travis. The story is based on the novel "The Prone Gunman" written by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I have never read this novel, so that let sink in now. Don MacPherson is known for writing the 1998 Avengers film(a film that has nothing to do with the Marvel Avengers films). This is actually his first writing credit on a film since that Avengers film way back in 1998. The saving grace if you will has to be Pete Travis, who is well known for the cult hit Dredd which was released back in 2012. He also wrote Endgame and Vantage Point before that. The story itself follows Terrier(Sean Penn) who we first see on a mission to kill the a leader in the Congo. The film really starts cooking when years later his team in hunted down, but Terrier doesn't know by whom. He goes on a mission to find out as he was once already targeted. The story is fairly simple as you can tell from my easy breakdown of it. Though the story seems average at best, it actually works out very well since Sean Penn delivers an amazing performance. The film opens itself up for tons of great action scenes, and that is the reason most would even be interested in this movie. With some well written characters the story is solid, and an all around good effort.
The Gunman was directed by Pierre Morel, who as I mentioned in my opening paragraph directed the first Taken film, he also directed From Paris with Love, and did some work on the Transporter series. The guy knows how to direct some fabulous action scenes, and this is clearly the case in this film. While the story calls for some extra downtime over the course of the nearly two hour film, with the great cast of actors, this flies by nicely and adds a nice aspect to the film. The film stars Sean Penn with other actors like Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, and Idris Elba popping in throughout the film as well. This is a Sean Penn film, and he really does carry the film. When the film switches back to the actions scenes, the film overall is flooded with some great action sequences and some brutal violence. The bigger action scenes look amazing with Morel behind the camera, and his experience really helps on this film. Morel and the amazing cast of actors do a fabulous job in this film, and is truly an excellent action movie.
The film was composed by Marco Beltrami, who is known for composing such films as Snowpiercer, The November Man, The Drop, and even composed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines way back in 2003. His effort on The Gunman is nothing short of great. I found myself really enjoying his overall work from start to finish, especially in the bigger action scenes. This will certainly be a score I listen to over again in the near future. Fans of Beltrami's work will not be disappointed, and leaves all fans wanting more.
In closing, The Gunman is a violent action film with amazing action scenes. My biggest complaint would be the story, though it is not bad given the type of film they set out to make, which is an action film similar to Taken. Action movie fans should for the most part enjoy this film, and I highly recommend you seeing this film in theaters. If you happen to be worried about the quality of the film, seeing it at a matinée showing would be your best best, but do not miss this film.
7.8/10