Friday, January 4, 2019

PEPPERMINT: SWEET REVENGE



Where the full throttle action film was once the province of men only that’s changed in recent years. Consider the films of Sigourney Weaver, Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron and you’ll see what I mean. Among those women in action films who hasn’t taken on that sort of role in a while is Jennifer Garner. Having established herself as an action star in the series ALIAS and the film ELEKTRA she concentrated more on dramatic and comedic roles. It’s nice to see her return to the action fold and in a movie that is non-stop action at that.

In PEPPERMINT Garner stars as Riley North, an average housewife and bank employee whose husband and young daughter are gunned down by a drug running gang in a drive by. It seems her husband was approached to drive a getaway car for a friend intending on stealing from Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), the head of the gang, but turned it down. As far as the leader is concerned just being asked is enough.

The justice system fails Riley as crooked judges and district attorneys paid off by Diego let his men walk free. When she explodes in the courtroom the judge has her sent to a mental institution. Before she can be taken there she escapes from the ambulance and disappears.

Five years later and Riley is back on the scene in Los Angles. She working her way through the Diego’s men beginning with the three that killed her family. She sends a clear message by stringing all three up by their heels from the Ferris wheel at the park she and her family were at those five years ago. War has been declared.

This time around Riley has caught not only the interest of the police officers she escaped from in the past but the FBI as well. A file has already been begun on her and seen what she’s done over those five years. Before she left she stole $50,000 from the bank she worked at. She then roamed the world training herself in everything from weapons usage to hand to hand combat. She’s now using that knowledge to take down Diego. Having recently stolen a load of military grade weapons from a local gun store she intends to do some damage.

But Riley doesn’t take her revenge on just Diego. She also goes after the judge, DA and defense attorney who allowed the corrupt money grubbing ways from getting her the justice she deserved. With the full might of the police and FBI capturing her should be easy. But she’s developed new allies as well. The homeless people of the streets have found a champion in her, a protector that they call an angel. When push comes to shove they increase the odds in her favor.

Eventually a show down is bound to happen and of course it does. Both good guys gone bad and bad guys who were always that way are taken out one by one. Riley is wounded more than once but does the best battle field triage that she can and soldiers on. She is determined to have her revenge and no one will stand in her way.

I could help but think of the character of Paul Kersey in DEATH WISH as played by Charles Bronson while watching this film. He too was driven by revenge to protect the innocent and find the guilty, taking them off the street with instant justice. Both were vigilantes who found support from a public tired of watching bad guys released due to technical issues. Both became legends and heroes of the people.

While it’s been 12 years since Garner starred in ALIAS she’s stayed in shape and ready to show her skills as an action performer on screen. While the odds are plenty of stunt performers were on hand to take care of many of the action scenes Garner was an actress ready to step in when she could. It shows and she brings the character to life not just with those scenes but displaying the anguish of a mother and wife whose life has been turned upside down as well. She’s believable and that is what it takes to make the movie work.

Director Pierre Morel continues to display his ability to handle action better than most. Responsible for films like DISTRICT B 13, TAKEN and FROM PARIS WITH LOVE he has a knack for capturing the actions sequences with ease and takes an old school approach rather than the new hand-held style that far too many directors use these days. The action here is captured in non-nauseating style and offers truly armrest grabbing scenes.

The film is rated R for the violence and blood in the film but the movie would be short changed without it. The story is violent, from the inspiration for Riley’s revenge through the revenge she extracts itself. Fans of action films expect that. Here’s hoping that the movie generates enough interest that a sequel is in order. I for one would be there ticket in hand. 

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