Official Synopsis:
Riley North awakens from a coma after surviving a brutal attack that killed her husband and daughter. When the system shields the murderers from justice, Riley sets out to transform herself from citizen to urban guerrilla. Channeling frustration into motivation, the young widow spends years in hiding -- honing her mind, body and spirit to become an unstoppable force. Eluding the underworld, the police and the FBI, Riley embarks on a deadly quest to deliver her own personal brand of punishment.
Official Review: Peppermint comes to us from Pierre Morel, the man who brought us Taken, the action adventure hit that helped revitalize Liam Neeson's career and sell him as action hero. Many had believed Peppermint might do the same for Jennifer Garner, I can say with absolute certainty, it did not. I didn't have much prior knowledge to Peppermint before my viewing- I knew a basic plot synopsis and that it starred Jennifer Garner. So when the film started I was intrigued to say the least, it opened with a story telling device I find to be overused and poorly executed most of the time. The film opens showing us Jennifer Garner's character, Riley North, in a fight with a man she blamed for the death of her daughter and husband. It then jolts us five years into the past with a very 2004 styled opening and editing that I found to be outdated. From there Peppermint proceeded to be 101 minutes of poor acting, cringe worthy dialogue and a score that felt like it was from the late 1990's.
Peppermint proved to be a drastic miss-fire for all involved. It was a movie that virtually sprinted from beginning to end leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. I was floored by the pacing of this movie, it never gave the audience any ability to settle and get to know the characters or the situation. Often throughout this movie we see Riley North in situations where she is able to get revenge or is vindicated, however, it never has the full weight it could've had because we never got to spend much time with Riley before the death of her daughter and husband. Or got to see any time she spent training to get revenge on her family's killers. It felt like there was another movie out there somewhere that gave us more information on the life of Riley North or how she became the talented assassin we got to see. It was disappointing overall because I felt like we missed the bulk of what would've made this story an interesting one.
Aside from the sped up story telling and missed opportunities this film had to offer, Peppermint was filled to the brim with disappointing performances. I think this was one of the most disappointing aspects to Peppermint. Starring a few known actors in Jennifer Garner and John Gallagher Jr. I had some expectations for this film to at least deliver on strong performances. However, it felt flat and phoned in for a good majority of the film. I chalk a good portion of it up to the screen-play. The actors would say things that felt unnatural and were delivered without any confidence in what they were saying. There were times I just face-palmed at how predictable and on the nose this film was. There wasn't one surprising moment. The entire run time of Peppermint I just longed for these actors to care about the film but it was almost impossible to sell this script and the dialogue as a compelling story.
The action sequences in Peppermint were neither impressive nor disappointing- they were just okay. They were by far the best part of this film but that is not saying much for this film. At times Morel resulted to a hyper edit style of action that came across as confusing or jarring. There were a few scenes that slow motion was almost over used and gave off a cheesy vibe. However, the biggest crime of the action sequences was the movies lack of intensity. For a movie that sprinted through everything else but slowed down with the few scenes that required a fast paced nature, was just a tragedy on Pierre Morel's part. I was most disappointed in the editing style of this film, it brought back a trope that I thought film makers had moved on from. Peppermint was filled with shaky multicolored transitions to take us from one scene to the next. These scene transitions, coupled with a loud and stereotypical score, left me groaning throughout the run time of this film.
Overall, I was highly disappointed with this film. I thought it was inconsistent with it's pacing, tone and character development. Peppermint failed to deliver around every corner and ultimately left me unsatisfied and slightly confused about the life of Riley North. I don't recommend seeing or renting Peppermint anytime in the future.
Grade: F
Writers: Chad St. John
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr, John Ortiz, Annie Ilonzeh, Juan Pablo Raba
Composer: Simon Franglen
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min
Distributor: STXfilms
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong violence and language throughout
Content Guide:
Language: Severe use of the F word as well as heavy usage of other profanities.
Sex/Nudity: Females in their underwear are seen.
Alcohol/Drug Use: Some references to drug distribution. We see females in their underwear packaging cocaine.
Violence/Disturbing Imagery: Severe violence and gore throughout the entire run-time of this film.
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