Peppermint
Awful film title aside, I was having doubts on Jennifer Garner being an action hero. Don’t even bother bring up Elektra. The film felt like it was capitalizing on these revenge sort of films that we have seen a trend of recently. I was expecting a dumb, turn off your brain film with good action. In parts, the film delivers in that aspect. As a matter of fact, this film was much better than I initially expected. Its not anything amazing, and the second half drags but it was a decent time at the cinema.
The film is about a woman whose husband and daughter are tragically killed one night. The husband was minimally linked to a drug theft that was supposed to happen so a hit was put out on him. After being distraught by the fact that the justice system let the murders go (also through corruption), the women goes on a revenge spree against the gang that were responsible for her tragedy. She becomes a vigilante of sorts on the run from the cops, a very violent one at that.
I was proved wrong about Jennifer Garner. This was a rather uncharacteristic type of film role than we are used to seeing her in. She definitely embodies the character and is a badass. The fight scenes and blood and gore are all very fun to watch. Which is great, because that’s the bare minimum you want. I do think the film tends to drag, especially when it focuses too much on the cops and the gang members. Its not a wholly consistent film but was better than I expected.
Its not going to be something that you’ll remember much in years or give much after thought to in a weeks time, but its good popcorn filler entertainment and that’s what it needed to be. It needed a more clear and focused plot and more focus on the action set pieces but for what you get its not bad at all. Garner is good in it and this could be the re-invigoration that her career needed.
6.5/10
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