Wow! Such a good movie.

From my favorite movies..

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

TP Henson (as Mary), an assassin leaves Jahl Winston (as Danny) fatherless after a hit. She also leaves with his photograph which she uses to follow and find Danny. She eventually takes him in after sniffing life out of the man (Uncle) who Danny works for - a self imposed penance, perchance, for remotely putting Danny on the streets.Proud Mary reinforces the notion that 'after everything, love is all that matters...truly loving someone is all that matters.'I liked the fact that TP (my home girl) could be both a Saviour as well as a Satan. I can forgive this movie's goofs which were overshadowed by its actors' crystal performance.

Why the hell did she bring EMPIRE attitude to this movie complete waste of time.

A hitwoman decides to leave a life of killing after joining an organized crime family in Boston, MA. Said hitwoman also attempts to look after a young kid who's being terrorized by the nasty thugs he works for. That's the gist of Proud Mary, my latest review. After an opening credits sequence that's a homage to blaxploitation films everywhere, "Mary" reeks in terms of familiarity and forced habitualness. It descends into becoming a totally stock mob thriller. "Mary's" got cool cars but it has risible one-liners. It's got eccentric guns but it takes itself way too earnestly. Finally, "Mary" is violent but its violence doesn't completely sting. All the carnage and duality feels half-assed at best. Heck, there's no visual poetry or ferocity as birds in flight. Bottom line: Proud Mary ain't no downtown Foxy Brown.Proud Mary's lead is Taraji P. Henson. She's visibly beautiful, she's a terrific actress, she's bad in black, and she has that apparent Pam Grier screen presence. However, Taraji is not an action star. "Mary's" director (Babak Najafi) knew this early on and that's why he films Proud Mary's fighting sequences so shoddily, so sloppily, and without clarity. When Henson's Mary Goodwin takes out 10-15 guys in "Mary's" final act, you don't believe it's possible and furthermore, you believe the stunt double did all the work. Henson, an Oscar-nominated trouper and someone coming off a cinematic hit a la Hidden Figures, needs to have a long talk with her agent concerning "Mary". She needs to decide whether or not to bring down the anvil and fire this person.All in all, Proud Mary has chintzy dialogue, two or more main characters that fade in and out, a barely resonant Neil McDonough, a tedious midsection, and Tina Turner's 1971 hit song being played as an obvious ploy. As a mediocre version of a female John Wick, a neutered version of this year's Accident Man, and a flick that borrows its plot line from 1994's The Professional, "Mary" sadly earns its January release date. This disposable movie is nothing to be "proud" of. Rating: 1 and a half stars.

When I first saw the ads for "Proud Mary" just before its theatrical release, I thought that it was do pretty well at the box office, since the time seemed right to bring back the Blaxploitation genre that thrived for several years in the 1970s. Instead, the movie did sluggish business. After watching the movie, I think I know why it didn't do so well with audiences, though it doesn't boil down to one reason. One reason may be that it was a production by Screen Gems, which has made one bad movie after another over the years; maybe audiences by now associate Screen Gems with bad movie making. Another reason might be that there's very little action in the movie, particularly in the first half. (And what action there is doesn't ever get above a routine level at its best). There's also no sex or real nudity showcased.But I think the real reason for the movie's downfall is the writing. Certainly, the story has a whole bunch of elements that will be very familiar with most audiences. (And the telling of the story is somewhat choppy at times, showing strong indications that important plot and character details were cut down in the editing room.) But even worse that that the characters in the story are unmemorable. There is no character that you'll particularly care about or be interested in. This includes Mary, who comes across as a grumpy figure who almost completely hides her past and feelings. Since there were no engaging characters, I simply didn't care who did what or who felt like whatever. The actors do try their best, but even they can't bring much life to their characters. I'm pretty sure that when they saw the end results, they weren't exactly proud.