Peppermint : Awesome Action Flick or this Fall’s First Flop?
Plot:
Law Abiding Citizen meets Alias. I can’t really hate on this movie because I grew up loving Alias. Continually in recent years Jennifer Garner has just played the stereotypical nice mom. Maybe it was to break the idea that she could only be Sydney but I was hoping one day she’d make an action film comeback…..and here it is. Jennifer Garner plays Riley North as basic mom down on her luck but holding it together for her kid and husband. All is well until Riley’s Husband and Daughter are gunned down in front of her and she is left shot in the head. When her case doesn’t hold up in court due to her head wound and a question of sanity Riley goes ghost. From there the movie lacks plot as it just becomes a revenge thriller. But honestly was anyone truly expecting a great story or just great action?? I get why not both but I guess I’m just too obsessed with Jennifer Garner to care for a deeper plot other than *bang bang* “I want Justice” *bang*.
Characters
This film has a slew of characters but almost of none of the matter to be honest. Jennifer Garner is Riley North and is perfect as Badass Killer and Blue Collar Mom. There’s a few scenes where she sarcastically taunting her victims and it’s hands down the most exciting bits of dialogue in the film. John Gallagher Jr. plays the role of Carmichael, the naive new cop in town who wants to take down the bad guys. This role plays quite well with Riley’s character since they both want justice just one is for Vigilante justice. John Ortiz is Moises the partner to Carmichael. Mosies knows how the justice system works and wants to stay out of the fight and stick to what his job needs of him. Finally there is Juan Pablo Raba who plays the Drug King Pin responsible for Riley’s daughter’s death.
Trailer
The trailer does not give away an ounce of what this movie has to offer. Aside from the minimal plot. I thought there would be one or two good action set pieces but the movie sets up gasp worthy fights scenes time and time again till the movie ends and you are left wondering what might happen next.
Overall
I’ve seen this movie be criticized for its lack of plot and I can agree. There isn’t one. Additionally, there are a lot of characters who are set up to seem important and then they are just gunned down and never spoken of again. However, this also adds an element of no one is safe and that made me really enjoy this film. My number one issue with revenge films as well is making the lead turn into the bad guy. It’s seen in Law Abiding Citizen and even toyed with in Batman. Luckily this movie dwells on this as an afterthought and focuses primarily on the gun and knife fighting Jennifer Garner. Now if that’s not what you care to see then this movie is terrible. But if it is , which was the main selling point for me, this movie is fantastic and worth a weekend night ticket.
WOULD YOU SEE THIS FILM??? LET ME KNOW BELOW.
