A sniper on a mercenary assassination team, working for an unknown client, kills the minister of mines of the Congo. Terrier's (Sean Penn's) successful kill shot forces him to go into hiding to protect himself and the members of the team from retribution. This includes abruptly abandoning his girlfriend who has no idea what is going on. The assassination, paid for by a foreign mining company, triggers wide spread chaos and death in an already inflamed Congo. Terrier returns to the Congo years later working for an NGO, but eventually finds himself to be the target of a paid hit squad somehow connected to the ministers assassination. This leads to immediate deaths and the endangerment of the people working around him, and forces him back into hiding. In trying to discover who has put a price on his head, he begins to reconnect to the members of his old assassination team, including his old girlfriend. Always aware there is no path to redemption for his crimes, he is also periodically ... Written by

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David Dixon from San Antonio, TX
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This is my first review. I have finally gotten tired of fake reviewers and haters rating films poorly because they don't like the actor and likely never saw the film. Reviewers are offended because he was working outside without a shirt on or because his shirt sleeves were short? Give me a break. I've seen plenty of 1 and 2 star movies, but, this was not one of them.

What I want to know from a review is whether or not a movie is worth watching. I do like action films and I don't dislike Sean Penn. This review comes from that angle.

You're not going to find cars jumping between sky scrapers, people falling 100s of feet and walking away or phony cliffhangers in this film. What you will find is an attempt to show necessary action in a mostly realistic way.

Sean Penn's role is more like Rambo than Superman. The action was original, clever and well executed. The dialogue was realistic and the acting was believable.

The only reason I didn't give it an 8 or 9 is because I felt it tried to do too much in too little time. That having been said making the movie longer wouldn't have worked because it would have taken 5 hours to do it right. The first 20 minutes could have been its own 2 hour film.

That having been said it all made sense. I didn't leave the theater wondering why or how anything happened. I would have cut several of the longer scenes short in order to tell more of the back story.

If you are looking for something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon you won't go wrong by seeing this film.

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ladcrooks-26-192893 from uk
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Good plot - took you to Congo, Spain and London. Something to think about what may or does go in Africa with the corruption of their natural resources.

Well thought out, no silly stupid explosions, villains held their guns right and for a change there were no Chuck Norris's or Bruce Lee's in the fighting.

And that is the biggest gripe of mine when it comes to action film - most films are too far fetched. Need more films like this and such as the 'Heat ' Leon'. Why cant they make real films anymore? The only bit that spoil it for me was an illness - didn't need it in the script

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Adam Baehr from New Jersey
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Wow I loved this movie it was Superb in my opinion and I never pay attention to critics now-a-days because you can never trust them to a certain degree. I will say that this movie is incredibly well done and filmed. The film is directed by Pierre Morel who directed Taken and From Paris with Love so he a ton of experience with action style movies and it definitely shows. The story is easy to understand and cliché yes but put together nicely and while there is a ton of talking that just makes the action scenes even more desirable in my opinion. The acting was top-notch by Sean and as for Idris Elba and Javier Bardem they were in it here and there but not much and they did all right but nowhere near there performances of the past. The action is where it is at in this film there are maybe half a dozen action scenes but Phenomenal I must say that had me believe this is definitely an R rated Taken and it shows. I would recommend any fans of Taken and or Casino Royale to watch this movie.

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CowherPowerForever from Pittsburgh, PA
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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

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gonzo_don from United States
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I'm not a huge Sean Penn fan. To my way of thinking, his best performance up until this movie was as Bradford Whitewood, Jr. in "At Close Range," but right now, after just having watched The Gunman, I've got to say, "Wow..." I never thought of Sean Penn as any sort of "action" star and I certainly never imagined him doing a film like this. But he can sure pick them. And picking this one was a stroke of genius. Some folks might see it as formulaic or routine, but I guarantee you that whoever wrote the screenplay either did more research than he should have or knows more about it than he should. It was almost perfect.

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Neil Welch from United Kingdom
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Jim is a security operative in the Congo, but works within a covert group whereby he assassinates a Congolese minister. Eight years later this operation returns to haunt him (or, more accurately, seek to kill him).

Sean Penn plays Jim, in his first outing as an action protagonist at the age of 54 (and he looks to be in extremely good nick for his age). He is joined by some very good support players in a film which is essentially a mystery (who is trying to kill Jim?) and romance (will Jim rekindle romance with Annie, from whom he was forcibly separated after the assassination?) but set in a fairly non-stop action thriller. The action is well-staged and credible and, interestingly, the amounts of blood in what is a pretty violent film appear to be more realistic than usual.

This is quite good.

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zardoz-13 from United States
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"Taken" director Pierre Morel's bullet-riddled conspiracy thriller "The Gunman" has so many things going for it that it's a shame the whole shebang isn't as good as its best parts. A buff, fiftysomething Sean Penn, who produced and co-scripted the film, surrounds himself with a first-rate cast that includes Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, Peter Franzén, and Mark Rylance. Morel orchestrates several kinetic shootouts in a variety of striking locations. Penn and his co-stars behave like they've been coached in wielding firearms because they display far more competence than the usual gunmen in archetypical action movies. It's always harrowing when guys armed with guns pause to reload in a firefight, and reloading sometimes isn't as leisurely in "The Gunmen" as it is in some actioneers. Morel emphasizes realism to a larger degree than he did in his earlier epics "District B13," "Taken," and "From Paris with Love." Penn and company aren't acrobatic, gravity-defying combatants. Often it requires more than one shot to dispatch an adversary. Moreover, some fights degenerate into savage slugfests with knives. Everybody sports body armor so shooting and killing one's opponent isn't always effective. Morel doesn't rely on his usual ultra-fast editing either to heighten the violence or to make you flinch. If you don't immerse yourself in action movies, you will probably flinch when our hero skewers a tenacious thug in the neck with a serried knife. Similarly, Morel generates suspense by making our hero vulnerable. He suffers from head injuries that constitute his Achilles heel, and this makes his encounters with his foes suspenseful. In some ways, the Penn protagonist is comparable to Nicolas Cage's terminally afflicted CIA agent in "Dying of the Light." Head trauma issues hamper both these heroes. Predictably, Penn's head trauma interferes with his endeavors. In "The Gunman," our hero experiences so much trouble with his memory that he records anything on his smart phone. Later, this video diary saves his bacon. Our hero scrambles through in a number of scenic locations, ranging from Africa, to London, to Barcelona, and finally Gibraltar at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. "800 Bullets" lenser Flavio Labiano makes the scenery appear stunning. Lastly, "The Gunman" wraps up its shoot-on-sight shenanigans with a happy ending; the hero triumphs over the villains who die melodramatically.

In French writer Jean-Patrick Manchette's 1981 crime novel "The Prone Gunman," the protagonist's first name was Martin. Presumably, Penn preferred playing a protagonist with Jim as his first name instead of Martin. Incidentally, Manchette's novel bears partial resemblance to its cinematic adaptation. Indeed, in the novel, Martin Terrier doesn't carry out the long-range execution of a political figure, and a shadowy American spy agency employs him. Further, the woman he adores, Annie, finds him broke, boring, and bails out on him. Manchette's novel takes place in France instead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the film, a predatory international corporation strip-mines the country's minerals with avaricious abandon. Simultaneously, the corporation maintains a team of mercenaries on its payroll. Not only are they around to protect their workers, but they also watch over the humanitarian workers attending to the natives. When the Congo's mining minister decides that this strip-mining doesn't serve the best interests of his homeland, he moves to shut down the corporation. Jim Terrier's supervisor, Felix (Javier Bardem of "Skyfall"), receives orders to eliminate the meddlesome minister, and he orders Terrier to perforate him. As a long-range sniper, nobody surpasses Terrier, and he ices the mining minister with one, extraordinary shot. Significant as the shooting is, Felix insists Terrier must clear-out of the Congo pronto. When he has to vamos, Terrier leaves behind his gorgeous girlfriend, Annie (Jasmine Trinca of "Romanzo Criminale"), who toils tirelessly as a physician in a field hospital. Clearly, a jealous Felix assigned Terrier the job so he could have Annie all to himself.

Eight years elapses, and the guilt-ridden Terrier returns to the Congo to drill water wells rather than politicians. During one outing, Terrier encounters two machete-toting maniacs and another armed with an assault rifle. Predictably, our hero disposes of his antagonists with customary aplomb. Afterward, he notices two empty vials on one man's corpse. Jim realizes with horror that this man had intended to fill those vials with his blood as verification of death. Evacuating himself from the Congo, Terrier visits his former associates to inform them about the attempt on his life. He fears some corporate kingpin has decided to clean house. Naturally, his instincts are proved correct as an army of shooters pursue him. Morel and scenarists Don MacPherson of "The Avengers" (not the Marvel Comics masterpiece), Pete Travis of "Vantage Point," and Sean Penn are obsessed with corruption on an international scale. The anonymous villain in the background that we never see is an enigmatic corporation that exploits the Congo's mineral-wealthy resources for billions. As laudable as this anti-corporate ideology is, it gets lost in this nimble actioneer and its fusillades of gunfire. Basically, the upper echelon villains are never shown when Interpol arrests them. Desperately, "The Gunman" aspires to be another "Blood Diamond," but it fails miserably by comparison. This message laden potboiler bogs down in its own pretentious pabulum. Everything that occurs between the shrewdly staged gunfights is designed to baffle if not bore you. Simultaneously, the biggest actors are squandered, too! First, Oscar winner Javier Bardem dies about an hour into the fracas. Second, you catch glimpses of Idris Elba, but this magnetic British actor is sidelined essentially until the last quarter-hour. Third, cast as a stereotypical damsel-in-distress, Jasmine Trinca makes only a minor impression as Penn's love interest. Whoever groomed Trinca's hair should go back to the canine spa that he or she quit. Talk about a bad hair day! Whatever scintillating sexuality the shapely Italian actress projected in her previous films never materializes here. Despite its enviable cast, exotic locales, and energetic action scenes, this Sean Penn shoot'em up stovepipes like a pistol that misfires.

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bankofmarquis from Minnesota
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Sean Pean is an overly-serious actor that takes his craft over- seriously and usually drives an overly-serious tone to whatever project he is involved with.

Such is the case with THE GUNMAN. An overly-serious action flick that could have been helped by a touch less seriousness and little more "fun" to the action.

Penn stars as Terrier, the "Gunman" of the title. In the overly- long setup, Penn, Javier Bardem, Mark Rylance and 2 dispensable guys take out a target. Cut to 8 years later and the 2 dispensable guys have been dispensed with while Penn narrowly avoids getting killed. Someone is killing those involved with the mission 8 years ago and Penn needs to find out who and why before he gets killed.

The first half of the movie - once the prologue is over - is overly long and lacks any real action. HOWEVER, the action picks up after that and some of the action scenes in the 2nd half of the film are quite fun, if overly gory, for this type of movie. This is particularly disappointing as the director of this film, Pierre Morel, was the Cinematographer of the first two TRANSPORTER films and is the director of the first TAKEN film, so I thought he'd have the tone of these types of movies down.

I see that Penn has a writing credit on this film, so I have got to believe that the over-serious tone of this movie has come from him.

Penn , as stated above, is overly-serious in his portrayal of Terrier, while Rylance and Bardem seem to be having a little less serious time with their characters. The always watchable Ray Winstone shows up as a shady character from Penn's past and elevates every scene he is in. The head scratcher is Idris Elba. I don't know what he is doing in this movie. I hope he enjoys the house in the South of France I can only imagine he bought with the money he earned on this movie.

One final thing. The henchmen in this movie badly needed to take more lessons at the HENCHMEN SCHOOL OF SHOOTING. They couldn't hit the broad side of a barn - or the broad side of Penn.

To be fair, THE GUNMAN isn't a bad movie, it actually is quite fun (especially the 2nd half), but I sure wish it wasn't so darn overly- serious.

7 (out of 10) stars (actually 6.5 stars, but I have to round up) and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)

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CleveMan66 from United States
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Pierre Morel knows from action movies – and action movie franchises. The French director helped capture the big screen images we saw in, among other films, "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" (1999), "The Truth about Charlie" (2002) and the first two "Transporter" movies (2002 and 2005). Soon after, Morel graduated to director, helming the original "Taken" (2008), the movie which reinvented Liam Neeson as an action film star, followed that with John Travolta's "From Paris with Love" (2010) and then "The Gunman". That's a very good resume – and "The Gunman" is a very good film!

Morel's latest globe-trotting actioner stars Sean Penn (in his first major big screen role in two years) as Jim Terrier, an ex-special forces soldier. He then finds work with the CIA as a member of a security detail protecting employees of NGOs in third world countries like the Congo. Jim's group also has a "parallel mission" of doing financially and politically motivated hits for unknown organizations who are pretty high in the global pecking order. Jim's less than thrilled with his job and suddenly flees Africa, leaving his surgeon girlfriend, Annie (Jasmine Trinca), in the care of his boss, Felix (Javier Bardem).

Eight years later, Jim is a broken man, apparently trying to atone for a past that just can't seem to leave him alone. He suffers from massive headaches and other disorienting symptoms from blows to the head he took while working as a special operator. Emotionally, he's not in much better shape. He hasn't seen Annie since he left her without explanation and he also regrets the things he's done professionally. His answer is to come back to the Congo to help dig wells that will provide the locals with safer and more accessible drinking water. One day, a group of gun and machete-wielding thugs storm the site where Jim is working. They're either really upset about what's coming out of their taps at home, or they have an even more serious beef with him. Jim sets out to discover the reason for the attempt on his life before it's too late. This leads him to reconnect with acquaintances from his past (Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance) and make new acquaintances (Idris Elba), while using his own "particular set of skills" to stay alive long enough to get to the bottom of what's been happening. His quest takes him from the Congo to London, Gibraltar and Barcelona. There are shoot-outs, fight scenes and chases aplenty and the movie gives us one of the more original climactic scenes that I've witnessed in quite a while.

For those of us who see a lot of movies, it's tough to make an action movie original and exciting, but Morel is just the guy to do it and "The Gunman" fits the bill quite nicely. Penn brings his usual intensity to the role – while highlighting his personal interest in helping the underprivileged around the world. (I personally know someone who saw Penn walking the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the weeks following that country's devastating 2010 earthquake.) While the action's backdrop makes the story a little political, it also allows for an interesting variety of characters and locales to parade across the big screen. Penn's character's former associates (and new enemies) are appropriately duplicitous, menacing and ruthless. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and suspenseful, while the main character's medical issues add an unusual and interesting dimension to his situation. I couldn't tell you if this film is meant to be Sean Penn's "Taken", but it is fun and exciting enough to warrant checking out. "A-"

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fxdx4
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In the same grain as "The American" and "The International", "THE (notice a trend?) Gunman" is a international thriller/action. Where the former 2 films focus more on the thrill, and are overall failures, Gunman is more action, and much more entertaining. If you are looking for a fairly low commitment to a 'smart' action movie, then you can do worse.

In 2006, Terrier (Penn) works for a global corporation (that might as well be called Umbrella Corporation) and is asked to kill a high ranking diplomat. The movie then skips ahead to the present where Terrier is not being chased down by unknown assailants. Nothing original there.

Terrier (Penn) is a likable character. Penn tends to be an actor your either hate or love, but he is does a good job as a grittier, more realistic Jason Borne. The movie ties to humanize him, but that side plot is mostly a thud. After Penn, the cast is stellar - however underutilized. It really is the peak of 'hey that guy' British actors. Unfortunately, Elba who gets second billing is in the movie for 2 scenes total and less than 3 minutes screen time, a role that has so little to it that I might as well have played the character. Winstone and Bardem exist, but their talent is mostly wasted.

The movie is a step sideways from a classic action movie. If you like the Borne series and its fast paced action you likely won't enjoy the more 'realistic' violence of "The Gunman". Unfortunately, if you are not interested in the Borne series, this likely won't be of any more interest. I give the movie a 7, because I enjoyed it. It is far from perfect, I feel the movie definitely 'left sometime on the table' in terms of directing and acting, it misses often in character development, and the movie kind of devolves into cliché, but there is enough substance to watch.

Although the film was produced by veteran action producer Joel Silver, Silver was removed from the editing room after one visit and the final cut of the film was supervised by actor Sean Penn and director Pierre Morel.
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A closing-credits caveat acknowledges the fact that in Barcelona bullfighting have been banned for years.
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Sean Penn had been seeking to work with Mark Rylance for a very long time. He invited him to join the movie and agreed to arrange the shooting schedules according to Rylance's availability.
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Javier Bardem was reportedly paid US $5 million dollars for his supporting role in the film.
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Despite being second billed in the credits, Idris Elba first appears over an hour into the film.
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Second movie where 'Javier Bardem' plays a character named Felix. The other is Collateral (2004).
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Based on the novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette.
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Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel has already been adapted to the screen by Robin Davies in 1982 as "Le Choc" with Alain Delon as the lead.
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assassination|hit squad|mine|mercenary|death|sniper|redemption|pool hall|pool table|hired killer|man hits a woman|henchman|eye gouging|impalement|home invasion|red herring|africa|village|neo noir|corruption|note|business card|showdown|spiral staircase|barn|stealing a car|person on fire|fire|gasoline|disarming someone|revenge|press conference|barcelona spain|tattoo|mental illness|brain scan|subway|gibraltar|carousel|sunglasses|fairground|man kills a woman|man punches a woman|hypodermic needle|female assassin|female killer|falling down stairs|interrogation|aquarium|security camera|surveillance|eavesdropping|fake passport|f word|cockney accent|war buddy|ex soldier|friendship|london england|police officer killed|scene during opening credits|subtitled scene|beach|airplane|photograph|surfboard|surfing|machine pistol|mission|bag over head|jungle|bulldozer|police officer|apartment|hotel|fear|paranoia|cigarette lighter|cigarette smoking|interpol|cemetery|funeral|swat team|bulletproof vest|stables|horse|mansion|wine cellar|text messaging|arrest|handcuffs|camera phone|cell phone|shower|premarital sex|drunkenness|bar|restaurant|machete|water well|doctor|hospital|nurse|death of husband|husband wife relationship|englishman abroad|boyfriend girlfriend relationship|war crime|ex boyfriend ex girlfriend relationship|politics|geopolitics|united nations|corporate crime|media coverage|news report|civil war|rebel|aid worker|memory loss|silencer|shotgun|assault rifle|machine gun|pistol|sniper rifle|character's point of view camera shot|subjective camera|conspiracy|cover up|politician|post traumatic stress disorder|flashback|haunted by the past|coming out of retirement|black ops|ex special forces|special forces|notebook|suspense|investigation|fugitive|hitman|bodyguard|assassination attempt|assassin|disguise|bar fight|pub|vomit|spitting blood|blood on shirt|ambush|booby trap|landmine|exploding car|explosion|grenade|survival|on the run|shot through a window|shot through a wall|threatened with a knife|stabbed to death|stabbed in the hand|stabbed in the leg|stabbed in the back|stabbed in the shoulder|stabbed in the arm|stabbed in the throat|stabbed in the chest|hit with a hammer|hit with a shovel|beaten to death|double cross|betrayal|deception|corpse|neck breaking|gore|blood splatter|blood|shot to death|shot in the shoulder|shot in the leg|shot in the arm|shot in the hand|shot in the back|shot in the chest|shot in the head|shot in the throat|foot chase|chase|knife fight|knife|combat|gunfight|shootout|bullring|bull|animal attack|slow motion scene|dual wield|violence|murder|damsel in distress|escape|rescue|held at gunpoint|hostage|kidnapping|brutality|beating|kicked in the crotch|punched in the face|hand to hand combat|mixed martial arts|martial arts|brawl|fight|fistfight|one against many|warrior|tough guy|anti hero|democratic republic of the congo|head injury|one man army|death of friend|based on novel|independent film|surprise ending|box office flop|critically bashed|bare chested male|2010s|2000s|dark hero|american abroad|action hero|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Argentina:16 / Australia:MA15+ (2015) / Canada:14A (British Columbia) / Chile:14 / Denmark:15 / France:-12 / Germany:16 / Hong Kong:IIB / Ireland:16 / Mexico:B-15 / Netherlands:16 / New Zealand:R16 / Norway:15 / Philippines:R-16 / Portugal:M/16 / Russia:18+ / Singapore:NC16 / South Korea:18 / South Korea:15 (edited version) / Sweden:15 / Switzerland:16 / UK:15 / USA:R (certificate #49428)