Rabla's Garcia makes for a threatening enough presence, but the writing here is very standard and all of his henchmen are interchangeable. The villains are as by-the-numbers as they come, with most amounting to little more than faceless cartel and gang members looking to track Riley down before she causes more problems for their operation. That being said, Garner's co-stars fare even worse, given very little material to work with. Due to the very basic character motivation, it's easy enough to get behind Riley and root for her, but as presented on the page, she's a very thin protagonist. However, the film never digs beneath the surface of that, so audiences simply sit back and watch Garner mow through enemies with precision, instead of being left on the edge of their seats, wondering what her next move will be. Peppermint toys with the idea of Riley being mentally unstable, which does add a much-needed layer of unpredictability to Garner's turn. Garner does her best to make up for the shortcomings of the screenplay, dutifully handling all the required set pieces and convincingly portraying a broken woman who has nothing to lose. The end result lacks the catharsis he's aiming for, as Peppermint crawls towards its inevitable conclusion. It certainly feels like there's a stretch of movie missing, and while it's appreciated that Morel wastes little time in getting to the action, he would have benefitted from fleshing out Riley's journey. This negatively impacts the film's pacing, making Peppermint feel longer than its sub two-hour runtime. John skims over the most interesting aspects of the narrative (namely, the kindhearted Riley's transformation into ruthless killer) in favor of by-the-book shoot-'em-ups where Riley hunts down the members of Garcia's crew. Peppermint is a mess from a structural perspective, playing almost like an extended third act after a very generic opening that hits the usual beats (touching family moments, etc.) before the inciting incident. Escaping, Riley falls off the grid for five years, returning when she's ready to bring the murderers to justice on her terms. ![]() ![]() Due to corruption in the system, the killers are allowed to walk free, while Riley is to be brought to a psychological care ward. Henchmen of Garcia's follow the Norths to the fair, gunning down Chris and Carly in front of Riley. Unfortunately, word of Mickey's plan spreads through town quickly, and the drug kingpin Mickey wanted to steal from, Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Rabla), makes his move first.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |