The Gunman is an action thriller that uses a humanitarian crisis as a narrative backdrop. In concept, this movie is meant to entertain while bringing attention to real life problems that have long gone ignored. In practice, it mainly makes for queasy viewing. There is a dichotomy between intention and product, the film relishing in its violence while at the same time condemning it.
Back in 2006, private security contractor Jim (Sean Penn) was the designated trigger man in an illegal covert operation in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo to assassinate a government minister. He was successful in the mission, which means he had to immediately leave the continent. In present day, Jim returns to the Congo with a humanitarian organization, only to find that he is being hunted. It appears that someone knows about his dark past, and Jim has to use his considerable skills and connections as he travels the world to get to the bottom of who wants him dead.
The film does have things to say about how corporate interests have had adverse effects in African nations. But it never seems entirely appropriate for these issues to be discussed within the context of an action thriller. It's kind of hard to take the film's positions about the violence in Africa when it uses violence itself as a means of delivering entertainment. The amount of cognitive dissonance required to separate the two sides of the movie makes it kind of difficult to enjoy.
Even if one pretends that the real life violence that provides the backdrop for this movie is fictional, one is left with a bloated, mostly uninteresting narrative suffused with extraneous elements. It is not enough that the main character is a former mercenary looking for redemption. He is also reunited with a former flame, who happens to be with someone else. He also happens to be dying, the character occasionally suffering bouts of tinnitus and dizziness. None of this enhances the overall viewing experience.
Director Pierre Morel is really good with action sequences. He keeps the camera steadier than most, and he has a knack for doing unexpected things. It never feels like anything is out of bounds, his characters also more than willing to do things that some may find inappropriate. But again, this craft is put together with a real life context that it can't quite support. With Morel on the director’s chair, it’s reasonable to assume that the movie is meant to do for Sean Penn what Taken did for Liam Neeson. But Penn just can’t pull it off. He is a terrific actor, but he is not very good at conveying the fun of an action movie.
Nothing is impossible in cinema. Perhaps it is conceivable that a muscular action movie could bring attention to real life problems; that through the hails of cinematic gunfire, audiences might achieve some level of enlightenment about some of the horrible things that happen around the world. It really seems unlikely, however. In the end, action films are about the delivery of violence. It's hard to see how violence can be addressed through the production of entertaining bloodshed.
My Rating:
