The Gunman

The Gunman videos

Cast & Crew

Sean Penn

Jim Terrier

Idris Elba

DuPont

Ray Winstone

Stanley

Mark Rylance

Cox

Javier Bardem

Felix

Jasmine Trinca

Annie

Peter Franzén

Reiniger

Daniel Adegboyega

Bryson

Pierre Morel

Director

Don MacPherson

Screenwriter

Pete Travis

Screenwriter

Sean Penn

Screenwriter

Andrew Rona

Producer

Sean Penn

Producer

Ron Halpern

Producer

Peter McAleese

Executive Producer

Steve Richards

Executive Producer

Olivier Courson

Executive Producer

Aaron Auch

Executive Producer

Adrián Guerra

Executive Producer

Flavio Labiano

Cinematographer

Frédéric Thoraval

Film Editing

Marco Beltrami

Original Music

Andrew Laws

Production Design

Stuart Kearns

Art Director

Silvia Steinbrecht

Set Decoration

Jill Taylor

Costume Design

Reg Poerscout-Edgerton

Casting

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News & Interviews for The Gunman

Javier Bardem’s Five Favorite Films

Critics Consensus: Insurgent is a Muddled Mess

Sean Penn’s 10 Best Movies

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Critic Reviews for The Gunman

Audience Reviews for The Gunman

• Oct 05, 2016

  This movie is based on the French crime novel [i]La Position Du Tireur Couchè[/i] by Jean-Patrick Manchette, hence this is an American/French collaboration. As generally stated with movies like this I have no idea how accurate the movie is to the source material because I haven't read the book. But, I like to look at this movie thusly, Sean Penn's audition to play []iJames Bond[/i], or showing he could be [i]James Bond[/i] if he hammered out the accent. The plot is about as cliched as you can get and we've seen a shitzillion times. A team of undercover special-ops mercs are given the task of assassinating a high ranking Minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. The reason being the Congo is racked with civil war and large evil mining corporations are taking full advantage. The Minister of Mining for the Congo declares contracts are unjust and need to be renegotiated with the corporations. So the large evil mining corporations hire Jim Terrier's team to assassinate the Minister. Everything goes well and Jim vanishes from Africa. 8 years later Jim returns to the Congo as an aid worker but quickly finds himself under attack from a hit team. After fleeing to London to meet up with an old member of his ops team, Jim is told his old special-ops boss has created a huge new international security company that pick up prestige contracts from all over the world including the Pentagon. In order to clear the new companies shady past, all previous special-ops team members are to be eliminated. Jim must now evade being killed, get help from old team mates and unravel who exactly was his special-ops boss...because he didn't know? So yes this plot is as old as the hills, seen many Hollywood A-list stars take on very similar, if not identical roles. Lets get one thing out of the way right off the bat, Sean Penn and his bod. So clearly Penn decided to get into shape for this movie, by that I mean get pretty seriously ripped. OK that's fine, good for him. The issue I have is that we're not allowed to forget that fact, its literally shoved down our throats at every given moment, at every turn. There isn't a minute that goes by where Penn isn't trying to remove his shirt so he can flash his newly acquired muscles at us, usually glazed in sweat for that extra glistening effect. Now as I've said he does look good, especially for age (even though his wealth allows him to get expert help, training, dietary assistance etc...), but it just feels like most of what we see in this movie, is just in the movie to show off his muscles. Example, the amount of cliched, corny bollocks in this flick is off the scale. Everything you've seen done in previous (better) movies, every single cliche from the book of cliches. When things get too much for Penn he gets into the shower and has an angst ridden wash. He leans against the wall of the shower, his head between his arms, looking down, allowing the water to run through his hair and down his thick biceps. When he gets out of the shower he's in front of a moisture covered mirror. He wipes his hand across the mirror to reveal his solemn face, he stares at himself, full of angst, clenches his jaw a bit, he's clearly thinking how serious the situation is...in a really butch type way. He actually does this action a few times throughout the movie. He walks around his hideouts topless all the time...full of angst. He loves to wear bulletproof vests topless. He stares into space whilst sitting in the shadows which just happens to make his muscles look even more butch, and bigger! There is of course a love interest, and oh my God so much sexual tension and sexual angst with that. The amount of topless, glistening muscle shots in dim lighting we see is incredible! All the while, totally full of angst because grrr...full on angst ridden butchness (is that a word?). Another thing that always amuses me about these type of movies, everyone is apparently massively rich. I mean sure, these guys are ex-special-ops so chances are they may have made lots of money sure, but its amazing how many of them manage to wind up with stunning executive jobs afterwards. Either that or they are able to start up their own massively successful company. The locations seen in this movie are stunning, simply stunning, the kind of places that only people like Sean Penn would be able to afford. All the offices have sweeping city views out of the large windows, apartments right on the banks of the Thames, all the residential locations are either huge and luxurious, or just plain huge with antique good looks. Good job to because when the bad guys turn up to try and kill Jim and co the huge locations give them plenty of places to run, hide and escape. Almighty convenient don't ya think, its almost as if they do this deliberately for grandiose action sequences (I'm rolling my eyes here by the way). Yep, not many realistic locations here folks, unless you live in a Spanish mansion? What makes this even more silly is the fact that's its clearly supposed to be this hard hitting, serious action drama, but its laden with cock ups...as far as I'm concerned anyway. When Terrier makes his deadly kill in the initial assassination, he leaves the gun behind complete with his fingerprints all over it! No he wasn't wearing any special gloves, his hands were bare and at no point does he try to cover his tracks. 8 years later Jim goes back to the Congo...why??!! This guy carried out a [b]major[/b] assassination there that won't have been forgotten, surely you're asking for trouble going back. Whilst in the UK (with another undercover colleague played by Ray Winstone) Jim has internal head issues (he suffers from trauma due to his militaristic past) and passes out in the street. Somehow he manages to get seen at a hospital, for a full brain scan, just like that! Normally most folk would have to wait ages for something like that in the UK under the NHS, and I doubt they would run an expensive test like that for someone dragged in off the street. Sure this is a movie so you assume Terrier's colleague pulled some strings...but really, come on! Lastly the finale, its lame, totally anti-climatic and I hated how Jim just reveals he had a recording of the whole build up to the assassination back at the start of the movies story, this whole time. Yeah right, pull that deus ex machina moment right outta ya ass movie. Cliches and Hollywoodisms (did I just make up another word?!) aside, honesty this isn't a bad flick despite my moaning, its actually pretty slick, well directed and well edited. Overall the complete package is glossy and relatively engaging, the problem is its completely dated, predictable, corny, fluff of the highest order. The movie wants to be this epic, serious, tension filled action drama so badly, but merely comes off as an excuse for Penn to show off his bod whilst looking moody all the time. Fundamentally Penn is in love with his muscles and wants to show them to you, and the movie feels self-indulgent and old hat.

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  Super Reviewer
• Dec 22, 2015

  The Gunman is a serviceable action thriller that will mostly apply to fans of the so-obviously aging Sean Penn. It's at times almost painful to watch the man fall apart as the film moves through its entertaining, yet often intense set pieces. In reality, movies like these seem to only exist to highlight the fact that actors like Penn should really be focusing his talents on films in genres more suited to his age. There is some hackneyed plot about people being double-crossed and framed for stuff for they didn't do, as well as some political undertones to give this some misplaced self-importance. Honestly, while mildly entertaining as a throw away action film, The Gunman never truly convinces as anything more.

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  Super Reviewer
• Sep 01, 2015

  A rather bland political thriller, The Gunman clumsily tries to mix action with political conspiracy. The story follows a former military contractor named Jim Terrier whose past comes back to haunt him when a group of mercenaries come looking for him. The action is pretty good, but the politics are extremely ham-fisted and aren't incorporated into the film very well. Featuring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, and Ray Winstone, the cast is quite impressive and they give some strong performances. However, the script is weak and does give them much to work with. Still, there's a fair amount of mystery and suspense as Terrier tracks down those who are behind the attempts to kill him, and learns who he can and cannot trust. The Gunman isn't really a bad film, it's just poorly executed.

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  Super Reviewer
• May 14, 2015

  Gunning for a raspberry at an automatic clip, musclebound Sean Penn's attempt at becoming a Liam Neeson-style action hero unfortunately causes the audience to recoil with every pump of the trigger. Oh, the titular character certainly looks the part, cut like an UFC fighter and angrier than Christian Bale on the set of Terminator Salvation, but the deathly serious tone laughably handicaps what amounts to an expensive bullets and brawn B-Movie. Treating the same B-Grade material with an almost fanatical religious sternness, the story laughably misfires as well. Injected with a personal political bent by the producer, the already uninspired story becomes even duller when the lead a paycheck-cashing assassin retires to become a virtuous do-gooder, building wells and third world hearts before his past comes back to haunt himone of many such heavy-handed instances. In this R-rated actioner, a former Special Forces soldier and military contractor (Penn) suffering from PTSD tries to reconnect with his long time love, but first must go on the run from London to Barcelona and across Europe in order to clear his name. The producer, of course, also proves to be the star: Sean Penn, an actor known for sticking liberal foot in mouth on many an occasion. While the well-meaning actions of his character are far from an egregious affront away from the confines of the script, here they become self-important grandstanding. Worse, Penn (a very deserved Best Actor Oscar winner for Mystic River and Milk) inhabits the part with the same laser-intensity as with Dead Man Walking. This is the same actor who reportedly took swipes at Nicolas Cages thespian credentials when the latter starred in Con Air. At least Cage knows how to literally roll with the punches with tongue firmly in cheek. Perfect physical specimen Penn kicks and hits like the best of them but, in approaching The Gunman like it was an Ingmar Bergman masterpiece, his character quickly becomes more expendable than an Expendable. Bottom line: I Am Sham

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  Super Reviewer