Drafted
as
a
thriller
with
a
love
triangle
thrown
in,
"The
Gunman" is
the
tale
of
an
ex-assassin
in
hiding,
who
is
now
being
hunted.
In
a
brief
prologue
dated
2006,
the
film
opens
in
Kinshasa
in
the
Congo.
A
news
bulletin
reveals
how
large
corporations
were
seeking
control
of
the
natural
resources
in
poor
and
impoverished
countries.
During
that
phase,
in
what
was
referred
to
as
Project
Calgary,
Jim
Terrier
(Sean
Penn)
working
for
the
corporate,
assassinates
the
mining
minister
of
Congo.
Then,
on
the
advice
of
his
best
friend
and
partner
in
crime
Felix
(Javier
Bardem),
he
leaves
behind
his
girl-friend
Annie
(Jasmine
Trinca)
and
flees
the
country.
Eight
years
later,
Jim
works
for
an
NGO
in
a
coastal
area
amidst
tight
security,
when
all
of
a
sudden
men
with
arms
land
up
where
he
works.
On
realising
that
they
were
specifically
looking
for
him,
he
sets
out
on
a
mission
to
find
out
who
is
hunting
him.
He
travels
from
Africa
to
London
to
Barcelona
catching
up
with
old
friends,
trying
to
solve
this
mystery
as
to
who
wants
him
killed.
And
during
the
course
of
the
narration
it
is
revealed
that
Terrier
suffers
from
memory
loss,
depression
and
head
trauma.
Packed
with
cliches
picked
up
from
"Memento",
"Enemy
of
the
State",
"The
Counselor"
and
"The
Expendables"
along
with
impulsive
digressions,
dubious
characters
and
gaping
plot-holes,
the
script
lacks
the
bite
of
a
wholesome
fresh
thriller.
Directed
by
Pierre
Morel
who
had
earlier
delivered
"District
13",
"Taken"
and
"From
Paris
With
Love",
this
film
is
based
on
the
novel
"The
Prone
Gunman",
by
French
writer
Jean-Patrick
Manchette.
Even
though
the
film
has
an
impressive
cast
line-up
offering
a
great
mix
of
acting
styles
and
accents,
wonderful
locations
with
some
arresting
moments
and
some
highly
stylised
action
sequences,
the
film
fails
to
impress.
The
entire
setup
seems
contrived
and
a
re-launchpad
for
the
ageing
Sean
Penn.
With
a
well-chiselled
physique,
Penn's
Terrier
flings
his
shirt
at
the
drop
of
a
hat,
smokes
like
a
chimney
and
kills
in
retaliation.
He
traverses
a
morally
complicated
past
like
a
zombie
and
the
script
fails
to
explain
how
he
got
into
the
mess
in
the
very
first
time
or
the
motive
of
eliminating
him
after
a
lapse
of
so
many
years.
As
for
his
performance,
Penn,
with
his
attitude
on
his
sleeve,
sleepwalks
through
his
character,
making
it
difficult
to
relate
to
him.
The
screen
comes
alive
with
the
quirky
histrionics
of
Javier
Bardem,
Jasmine
Trinca
and
Ray
Winstone,
who
plays
Terrier's
friend
the
helpful
friend
Stanley.
Mark
Rylance
as
Terrier's
other
estranged
colleague
Cox
is
functional
as
the
other
bad
guy.
And,
Idris
Elba
as
the
Interpol
Agent
is
wasted.
Overall,
"The
Gunman"
shoots
off-target!