Peppermint (2018)
Directed by Pierre Morel
A grieving mother transforms herself into a vigilante following the murders of her husband and daughter, eluding the authorities to deliver her own personal brand of justice.
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29 films that influenced Peppermint
What critics say influenced Peppermint
You can trace a direct line from Michael Winner’s insidious 1974 vigilante film Death Wish to Peppermint, Philip Morel’s by-the-numbers, and problematic, revenge film.
Two underperforming action duds (From Paris With Love, The Gunman) later finds Morel following the spoor of Charles Bronson’s Death Wish cycle.
Vigilante revenge thrillers in the style of 1974’s Death Wish feel positively old-fashioned.
The woman looks more like a soccer mom than John Wick, “The Equalizer’s” Robert McCall or — going waaaaay back — Charles Bronson’s “Death Wish” vigilante Paul Kersey.
Ever since Death Wish got the sub-genre ball rolling way back in 1974, these movie have popped up with increasing frequency and accelerating body counts.
“Peppermint” is more along the lines of Charles Bronson’s “Death Wish,” delivering vigilante justice in the name of revenge only.
There’s more than a little Geena Davis magic – à la The Long Kiss Goodnight – in how she nails down both halves of her performance.
It’s clearly an imitation of “John Wick,” but director Pierre Morel lacks the visual chops necessary to effectively ape that film — which itself is a bit overrated.
Written by Chad St. John (“London Has Fallen”) and directed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”), “Peppermint” certainly doesn’t reach the comic heights of 2014’s “John Wick,” nor the espionage reveals of 2017’s “Atomic Blonde.”
But “John Wick” this is not: Even the action scenes lack heft, as Riley is such an expert shooter that hardly any of the adversaries she confronts put up a fight.
As with similar flicks like John Wick and Taken, the justice of what she's doing is rarely called into question.
Comparisons to “Old Boy” or “John Wick” would be fair.
Obviously trying to be a cross between “John Wick,” “Taken,” and “The Punisher” - but with a qualified female badass, “Peppermint” lacks the clairty and swagger that made those films (more or less) memorable.
Fans of Garner (count me in) have been salivating to see the actress return to the butt-kicking, take-no-prisoners form she showcased in Alias, the TV series from J.J. Abrams that ran from 2001 to 2006 and starred Garner as international spy Sydney Bristow.
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When the wave of Hong Kong movies from masters such as John Woo (Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard Boiled) were making their international bones in the 1980s and early '90s, they brought wild creativity to the choreography of violence.
When the wave of Hong Kong movies from masters such as John Woo (Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard Boiled) were making their international bones in the 1980s and early '90s, they brought wild creativity to the choreography of violence.
And when it comes to female vengeance films, “Kill Bill,” “Hard Candy,” “Extremities” and — one of my all-time favorites — “Serial Mom” and their so-called heroines Uma Thurman, Ellen Page, Farrah Fawcett and Kathleen Turner did it much better with more believability.
Even though the film offers plenty of "not a white guy" faces on "team good guy," it says something when a 2018 actioner is less racially sensitive than Predator 2 (which I rewatched yesterday for obvious reasons).
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The first, Mel Gibson’s Payback , shows how the methodical decimation of a criminal organization can work given the proper tone and approach.
And when it comes to female vengeance films, “Kill Bill,” “Hard Candy,” “Extremities” and — one of my all-time favorites — “Serial Mom” and their so-called heroines Uma Thurman, Ellen Page, Farrah Fawcett and Kathleen Turner did it much better with more believability.