Peppermint (2018)

Peppermint (2018)

Right! I’m going to summarise all the reviews I’ve read.

As for me… No, it’s not the sort of film I’m crazy about! Action films were all well and good back in the 80s. But the ones from the 2010s and 2020s? Not really my cup of tea. Admittedly, there are exceptions. I used to love superhero films for a very long time, but the 2020s have done them in too.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say this film is realistic. Is five years really enough to become a hero? Yes, but not necessarily enough to become a soldier who takes on an entire army Rambo-style.

Fights lasting three hours were brilliant in a film like Tango & Cash (1989). Here, it’s actually a good thing there aren’t really any. No endless brawls between burly blokes with backflips and roundhouse kicks.

The start of the film is absolutely dreadful. To have a happy family life shattered in the space of a single evening – an evening that was itself almost perfect, right up until its conclusion… What an awful tragedy!

Yes, when it comes to action, we’ll be reminded of quite a few films, such as the Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), but of course the Taken trilogy (2008–2025) as well, which is by the same director, Pierre Morel. Morel also directed Canary Black (2024), starring Kate Beckinsale, who actually reminds me a lot of Jennifer Garner. It would be a real treat to see the two of them in the same film. Well, for me, it would be a crime thriller rather than a film where one or two heroes kill everyone.

Canary Black is a British film, whereas Pierre Morel is a French director and cinematographer!

When it comes to Kill & Revenge, the excellent Death Sentence (2007) springs to mind. And as for a justice system that’s completely rotten to the core, how can we not think of the essential Law Abiding Citizen (2009)?

I came across this review: ‘The trailer had made me want to see more, and I was expecting a hard-hitting film with a gripping story, unpredictable twists and turns, and action galore. Unfortunately, I was completely let down.’ Action galore isn’t necessarily my thing, but as for the rest, I’d have to agree.

In short, a mediocre and rather disappointing action film starring Jennifer Garner in the lead female role, who mercilessly settles scores with her adversaries, just like Zoe Saldana in Colombiana (2011). Jennifer is, however, one of those actresses I absolutely love, even if she doesn’t always appear in good films such as Wakefield (2016), Daredevil (2003), or Elektra (2005). Peppermint will go straight onto that list, much to the chagrin of those who never agree with me! ;-D

I consoled myself by telling myself I was watching Garner’s scenes in The Expendabelles! A project that will probably never happen, but you never know in this world where anything is possible. But it’s clear that Jennifer Garner would fit right in in a female-led version of The Expendables 1–4 (2010 to 2023). Alongside the two leading ladies, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton, she’d be surrounded by a team comprising Milla Jovovich, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Scarlett Johansson.