Really Surprised!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It seems odd that such a talented actor as Sean Penn would require an action star rebranding but I guess that this was that attempt. And oh boy did it fail.This movie is a snoozefest. It contains a convoluted plot, poor dialogue, and (mostly) bland action scenes. This movie's 1 hour & 55 minutes and you painfully feel every second of them. It's shot fine and it has one or two good action scenes but none of that can make up for how forgettable this movie is. I found it on Netflix and saw it starred Penn, Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, and Mark Rylance and figured that this movie would at least be decent. Not even these great actors can help this film.About a forgettable of an action movie as I can think of. Not a recommend.

Pretty hard to fathom why this film got such a bad rap in the media while too many cheesy formulaic crowdpleasers from the Hollywood hit factory get 4 and 5 stars from well reputed outlets. This is a smart, superbly cast and extremely well shot international thriller - the sort that rarely gets made these days - and why such an intelligent production that actually aims to be credible and somewhat educative scores so much lower with critics than the endless parade of Bonds and Furious 7's with their ridiculous jumping cars and chewed up one liners, I have no idea. For once the story and script are actually believable, a rarity in modern action cinema, and Penn and Bardem give great performances that are perfectly matched by beautiful dynamic cinematography of a fair few exotic locations.I'm not easy to please with thrillers and action movies but found this one utterly enjoyable.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Professional assassin Terrier (Sean Penn) was on a mission in Congo many years ago, where a hit on an important minister went wrong and forced him into hiding. Years later, after returning to Africa, an attempt on his life is made, and he is determined to find out why. After tracking down his old associate Cox (Mark Rylance) in London, he learns that all the other members involved in that assassination have been getting hit as well, and after some help from old pal Stanley (Ray Winstone), he heads to Barcelona, reunites with old flame Annie (Jasmine Trinca) and attempts to get to the bottom of a very complicated web of deception.After years of accused ageism in Hollywood, the stars with a few more miles on their clock are seemingly getting lead roles once again, and the trend seems to be set on turning them into action heroes. There was Liam Neeson in the Taken movies, and Kevin Costner in 3 Days to Kill, and now Sean Penn is the latest 50+ star to have a stab with this thriller that appears a lot more considered than it is. That older actors are being put in these roles is an indication that there aren't enough younger, up and coming stars with the meat on their bones to do these roles, but also that this kind of material matches the sell by date of the older actors.It starts with what seems a pretty intricate set up, but before long it's become clear it's just a fairly standard, join the dots action thriller, that follows all the clichés to a tee and is fairly predictable to boot. An all star cast, including Javier Bardem and Idris Elba, are scattered all over the place in roles that pretty much serve to extend the clichés (the old pal, the love interest, the one who'll stab him in the back.) They all play the parts well, and there is a more mature feel to match the more mature stars, but that's as high as the recommendations go.Ultimately, a star with a bit more Hollywood firepower is getting to have a second coming with the type of thing Steven Seagal makes a living from. **

Based on the reviews, I wasn't expecting anything but BAD from this film, and it delivered something better: TERRIBLE! How does an actor of Sean Penn's caliber get talked into playing the lead role in such a shitty project? If you're sitting home, working on something that doesn't require your full attention, then this may be something worth your divided time. If you are looking for engaging entertainment, look else where. The only fascinating angle of this film is Sean Penn. He was 54 going on 55 when he performed this role. I have to commend him on his pumped-up appearance. Quite inspiring, considering he has never been one to play such physical characters!! And it would seem I have inadvertently answered my own earlier question. He probably saw this as an opportunity to get in shape while earning a paycheck, which was probably in the millions as usual.