![]() When the thugs walk, thanks to a corrupt judge and lawyer, she disappears, only to pop up five years later. Chris and their daughter, Carly (Cailey Fleming), are gunned down in front of Riley, at a Christmas carnival no less. Her husband, Chris (Jeff Hephner), a mechanic, entertains the idea of driving the getaway vehicle in the robbery of a powerful drug dealer, Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), which earns a hit on his name. Garner is Riley North, a lower-middle-class Los Angeles bank teller with a family struggling to make ends meet. But just because the vigilante happens to be America’s PTA mom, Garner doesn’t make the wanton displays of unchecked violence any less icky. Motherhood defines who she is and what she does, which is both her strength and her weakness, and often, it’s somewhat limiting. John, what distinguishes “Peppermint” from every other vigilante shoot-em-up is that this time, our hero is a mom. Following in the time-honored tradition of “Taken,” “John Wick,” “Atomic Blonde” and “Death Wish,” Jennifer Garner arms up in the vigilante mom action thriller “Peppermint.” That’s both literally and figuratively, as Garner sports some seriously sinewy shoulders her guns come in both the semi-automatic and bicep variety.īut while it’s fun to watch Garner return to her action roots, the brute force haymaker that is “Peppermint” is a far cry from the sophisticated thrills of “Alias.” Directed by “Taken” helmer Pierre Morel and written by “London Has Fallen” screenwriter Chad St. After all, it took no less than five Death Wish movies for Charles Bronson to finally get the job done.How to revive a movie star’s flagging career? Take up guns, obviously. The audience is on her side from the first moments to the ending, which provides the opportunity for Riley to make a return appearance in a sequel. ![]() Whether cracking sardonic jokes or showing tenderness toward a child, her character is sympathetic even when committing the most violent atrocities. But unlike so many action stars, she’s equally adept at drama and comedy. Garner, who hasn’t done this sort of thing in quite a while, handles the demanding physical aspects of her role with tremendous skill, demonstrating an admirable commitment to her training regimen. Only the big finale, involving Riley, the criminals and the cops at Skid Row, proves disappointing, with reality, such as it is in a film like this, completely thrown out the window. While the action sequences lack the morbid visual elegance of the John Wick movies, they’re cleanly choreographed, photographed and edited. But not before punching her in the mouth.ĭirector Morel, who also made the Sean Penn starrer The Gunman (are you sensing a pattern?), stages the ultra-violent proceedings for maximum visceral effect. And after being injured during one of her violent encounters, she briefly takes refuge in the house of a soccer mom who made her life miserable in the past. After an encounter with a young boy and his drunken lout of a father on a city bus, she takes matters into her own hands and shows the errant dad the error of his ways by sticking a gun in his mouth. ![]() The frustrated Garcia, watching his men slaughtered like pigs in a series of daring raids, is reduced to giving such orders as “Put this bitch in a box before sunset!” and proclaiming, “This shit ends tonight!”Īlong the way, Riley demonstrates that she hasn’t lost her maternal instincts. She proves remarkably adept in her mission, showing no mercy as the body count lurches toward the triple digits. In any case, she’s back in Los Angeles and immediately begins her vendetta against Garcia and his minions, starting with the three men who murdered her family. John ( London Has Fallen) doesn’t bother to provide any details as to exactly how Riley becomes an expert in hand-to-hand combat and automatic weaponry, among many other talents. When Riley goes berserk and tries to attack the killers, she’s tasered and is on her way to a mental hospital when she manages to escape.Ĭut to five years later, which is apparently the amount of time needed to transform oneself into a lean, mean killing machine. But the deck is clearly stacked against her, with the obviously corrupt judge dismissing the case. Cooperating with the sympathetic detectives (John Ortiz, John Gallagher Jr.) investigating the case, Riley identifies the gunmen (criminals should probably avoid having distinctive facial tattoos) and testifies against them in court, even after receiving a combination bribe offer/threat from the defense attorney. ![]()
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