So is this like Sean Penn’s first paycheck gig, or is he seriously trying to reinvent himself?
You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of The Gunman...
It seems Liam Neeson is a hero to a lot of people. Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher. Pierce Brosnan in The November
Man. Denzel Washington in The Equalizer. Kevin Costner in Three Days to Kill. Keanu Reeves
in John Wick. Even Dolph Lundgren is getting in on the action with the upcoming Skin Trade
co-starring Tony Jaa! The list of actors trying to find their own Taken franchise does indeed
seem to go on and on and on - but who’d ever thought to find Sean Penn on it? The
two-time Oscar winner, certainly always up for fun with cameos here and there like in
Tropic Thunder and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, has been noteworthy for NOT taking
paycheck gigs like some of his fellow prestige actors - (COUGH) De Niro! Now that’s not
to say Penn hasn’t made some bad movies, but they always looked promising on paper.
U-Turn was an Oliver Stone movie with an all-star cast! The Interpreter co-starred Oscar winner
Nicole Kidman and was a Sydney Pollack movie! And Gangster Squad co-starred Ryan Gosling,
Josh Brolin and Emma Stone, plus was directed by Zombieland sensation Ruben Fleischer! Hmm,
I guess Tom Hardy is kind of like that too...however, who’d want to necessarily follow in the
footsteps of Sean Penn? He’s got a ton of prestige and respect, yet he’s never truly
achieved full on movie stardom, at the box office or with critics. Perhaps Penn is tired
of fighting for every movie, every inch of his career - oh the uncertainty! Can you blame
guy for wanting a little box office security late in his career? I mean look at Neeson!
There’s a reason every actor close to his age wants to be him - making multiple movies
a year and collecting the paychecks that go with them. And he’s basically just making
the same movie over and over, right?! That’s how the intended doppelgangers feel, yet so
far only Denzel and Keanu have been able to duplicate Neeson’s success. Can Penn crack
the formula too? He’s got some impressive back-up with Javier Bardem, Idris Elba and
Ray Winstone co-starring. Plus the original director on Neeson’s Taken franchise is
at the helm here, Pierre Morel! So it’s even got that french connection, Morel plus
it’s based on a french crime novel, The Prone Gunman, written back in 1981. Man, this
movie really looks good...on paper! But then, Penn knows from personal experience that doesn’t
always work out...
always
work out...