Many people forget Jennifer Garner has dabbled in the action genre before, whether it’s as special agent Sydney Bristow in the hit series “Alias” or the marvel anti-heroine Elektra in both 2003’s “Daredevil” and her own solo film released in 2005. Ever since then, however, Garner has taken on roles in various other genres, including rom-coms, hard-hitting dramas, etc. With her latest attempt at action/adventure comes “Peppermint,” which more than delivers on Garner’s charm, physique, and empathy. I just wish her talents were used in something other than a predictable and uninspiring Taken/Death Wish/Punisher mash-up.
Suburban mother and wife Riley North is getting ready for her daughter’s birthday while her mechanic husband receives an offer to be a getaway driver for a robbery against notorious crime lord Diego Garcia. Her husband eventually decides to refuse, but not before Garcia gets notified of the attempted robbery. As Riley and her family head to the fair for her daughter’s birthday, Garcia sets up a hit against Riley’s husband.
After her husband and daughter are brutally gunned down in a drive-by shooting, Riley loses her sanity as the men who did her wrong are released with the aid of a corrupt justice system via paid off lawyers and judges, resulting in her being transferred to a psychiatric ward, but not before escaping to parts unknown. After 5 years of hiding and training till her heart’s content, Riley North returns with a new mission: To exact vengeance against those who took away those she loved as well as free her city of corruption and deception.
I’m always waiting for there to be a return to form for Jennifer Garner as an action star, and this movie just made me even more anxious, both in good and bad ways. Jennifer Garner alone is what holds this movie together. Before her family is murdered, she portrays a level of intimacy and openness that you can appreciate and connect with. But after the incident, she turns into a merciless, brutal, and unflinching vigilante willing remove anyone who stands in her way of revenge. Throughout her entire tirade against the men who murdered her family, Garner exceptionally conveys a determined and persistent vendetta against corruption while also squeezing in a more tender, solicitous aspect to her character. It also helps that Garner’s physique further exemplifies why she needs her own action franchise.
The rest of the film, on the other hand, is a complete hit-or-miss (mostly miss). I’ll give director Pierre Morel credit in that he definitely has a good level of experience in regards to his action. Even though nothing stands out from any of the set pieces, the action sequences, consisting of off-the-wall shootouts and close quarters fisticuffs, have enough edginess and thrill in them to at least make them enjoyable to watch.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film is nothing but a bland, generic, cliché-riddled, and somewhat boring revenge story that doesn’t gain any traction and features not many thrills. The supporting cast is completely wasted on expository dialogue, lackluster twists, and one-dimensionality. The villains, consisting of numerous faceless cartels and Diego Garcia himself, are nothing but the stereotypical crime lord every action hero must face off in the end.
The story never takes advantage of Jennifer Garner’s charm and potentiality as an action star. The film sets up all the reasons as to why her life has been ruined, but then jumps 5 years ahead and that’s where the real plot begins. We never get to witness Garner’s transformation into a formidable, gun-wielding force of nature, as it’s revealed she possessed multiple passports, attended a foreign MMA fighting ring, and busted into a store filled with weaponry. To make things worse, we never get to see Riley exact her vengeance against the men who did her wrong, whether it’s the lawyer who attempted to pay her off or even the men who physically murdered her family. Instead, we’re either told of what happened via more exposition presented by the cops or shown the aftermath of what she did.
Overall, “Peppermint” had a chance to bring Jennifer Garner back into the action genre, but instead wastes all her talents on a mediocre revenge-thriller with above-average action and an uninspiring supporting cast. It’s a real shame as Jennifer Garner excels in every scene she’s in. If anything, “Peppermint” exemplifies exactly why Jennifer Garner needs to take on more action projects in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBMQpzoEXQ&t=1s&w=585