‘The Gunman’ International Trailer: Sean Penn Has A Guilty Conscience
It’ll be at least a couple years beforeTaken 4comes out — if it ever does come out — but while we wait,The Gunmanmight be able to tide you over. Directed byPierre Morel(of the firstTaken),The GunmanstarsSean Pennas Jim Terrier, a former Special Forces soldier and military contractor suffering from PTSD.
All he wants is to reconnect with his love, but circumstances get in the way. He has information that has certain very dangerous people wanting him dead, and he goes on a globe-trotting mission to clear his name. WatchThe Gunmaninternational trailer after the jump.
Studiocanal UK unveiledThe Gunmaninternational trailer onYouTube.
The Gunmanlooks pretty familiar for the most part, but there’s reason to hope it’ll be a cut aboveTaken’s many imitators. It’s based on a novel by leftist French novelistJean-Patrick Manchette, who’s known for infusing his noir tales with social and political criticism.
In an interview from 2013, Penn insisted there would be more toThe Gunmanthan cheap thrills. “Calling it an ‘action film’ is kind of like calling Meryl Streep a sexy blonde chick,“he said. “She is. But that really doesn’t tell the story of what she is at all.”
The substance of the story could help explain what Penn is doing in a Liam Neeson-style actioner. “I don’t separate this in my mind from anything else I have done,” he said at the time. “It’s a very human story that deals with the same things exploited in action films, like warfare.”
Then there’s the cast. In addition to Penn, there’sIdris Elba,Javier Bardem, andRay Winstone— actors who are familiar with action movies, yes, but also actors known for bringing weight and intelligence to their roles.
And hey, even if all that turns out to be marketing blather andThe Gunmanreally is just anotherTakenripoff, at least it looks like a pretty entertaining one.The Gunmanlands in theatersMarch 20, 2015.
