Peppermint: A Vigilante Thriller That Misses the Mark
A generic action flick about a woman seeking revenge, arriving about thirty years too late, as she returns to punish the mafia for the death of her husband and daughter.
Five years ago, Riley North, a modest bank employee, lost everything in a drug mafia shootout when her husband and only daughter were killed. The law failed to deliver justice – the murderers walked free, and Riley herself was nearly committed to a mental institution. However, she escaped and disappeared from the police radar. Now, armed with combat skills and a vast arsenal of weapons, Riley returns to Los Angeles to deliver her own brand of justice. Her targets include not only the direct killers of her family and their bosses, but also the law enforcement system that failed to stand on the side of good. Only a couple of cops who investigated the Norths’ murder secretly support the vigilante’s actions, but their duty forces them to hunt her down.
Many years ago, Kozma Prutkov compared a certain type of people to sausages. Of course, the classic was harsh in his statements, but undoubtedly right – each of us is ultimately a product of the synergy of upbringing, education, immersion in a certain environment, and the influence of our surroundings. Is it any wonder that originality is becoming increasingly rare in cinema, and the influence of masters and craftsmen of past years is easily discernible in almost every film? However, everyone uses this influence in their own way. Some rise higher “on the shoulders of giants,” while others repeat cheap tricks, hiding the absence of their own talents behind them. Despite all due respect for “Taken,” French director Pierre Morel cannot be called a pillar of cinema. Rather, he is a distorted reflection of his recent patron, Luc Besson.
Predictable Plot and One-Dimensional Characters
It’s hard to take “Peppermint” even remotely seriously. For the seasoned viewer, the synopsis alone is enough to understand: this is another “Death Wish,” with an obvious setup and predictable ending, incapable of arousing interest. And this skepticism is justified; the film doesn’t shine with ingenious script solutions or even somewhat developed characters. The characters here are one-dimensional, the transformation of a suburban mom into a deadly fury is shown in a dotted line in a five-second flashback, and any mysteries are not worth wrinkling your brow over. It seems that the script was written by a machine according to the simplest algorithm: here are cunning villains, here is a positive heroine, here are corrupt cops, and here are faceless pawns of the mafia and a corrupt court, whom it’s not a pity to chop into cabbage. Nothing superfluous, simple straight moves.
Jennifer Garner’s previous role in an action movie was as a CIA medical expert in Peter Berg’s “The Kingdom,” released 11 years ago.
Even the provocative line with the approval of the vigilante’s actions by ordinary city residents cannot be called particularly original – this, if you will, is a reference to superheroes and comic book characters. Street artists dedicate their graffiti to Riley, and she is called an “Angel” on the streets because she protects the weak, while the heroine’s cruelty towards those she considers unworthy of life is striking. Batman, Spider-Man, or Superman are nowhere near as ruthless – North prefers a shot to the face at point-blank range, rather than those comical captures with the subsequent transfer of bandits to the cops. Morel, unfortunately, left the moral aspect of revenge out of the equation, although it would have been especially interesting to explore. Where is the line between restoring justice and obsession, between justice and cruelty, between a Defender and a Punisher? But don’t expect depth; “Peppermint” is not about thoughts, but about actions.
Uninspired Action and Lackluster Performance
Attentive viewers have already calculated that Jennifer Garner’s character kills 43 people in the film, with only five of them dying off-screen; the death of the rest is shown in all its “glory.”
However, things are far from good with the action as well. The action scenes cannot be called innovative or elegantly graceful, as they have learned to do in recent years. Yes, there are a couple of shootouts with an abundance of characters and elaborate choreography, but the lack of real inspiration is betrayed by the choppy editing and the abundance of scenes with stunt doubles. Alas, Jennifer Garner never got rid of the “Elektra complex,” and she didn’t become a new “Atomic Blonde” or a female version of “John Wick” – the actress looks more confident and authoritative in conversational scenes. Against this background, the shootouts fade, and the fights turn into comical fistfights, as if inserted into a modern film from cheap action movies of the mid-80s. So, don’t count on the audacity of “Taken” or the brutality of “Law Abiding Citizen.” This is more the level of a criminal drama of a television format, where in the finale there will certainly be a one-on-one fight and an obvious victory of “good” over “evil” after a series of knockdowns.
Final Verdict: A Forgettable Action Flick
The release of “Peppermint” is unlikely to be recorded as an achievement by anyone involved. Jennifer Garner should give up the idea of returning to action; it’s not her thing. John Gallagher Jr. can clearly do better. And Juan Pablo Raba should avoid such blatant hack work in the future. But it’s most обидно for Morel, who made a bright statement with “District 13” and “Taken,” and then “slid” to the lackluster “Gunman” and “Peppermint.” It seems that Besson’s influence on him was too strong – he squandered his own talent and uses someone else’s ineptly, which again brings us back to Prutkov, but already with his unforgettable passage about the fountain.