Cast:

Steve Carell                              General Mark R. Naird

John Malkovich                         Dr. Adrian Mallory

Ben Schwartz                            F. Tony Scarapiducci

Diana Silvers                             Erin Naird

Tawny Newsome                       Captain Angela Ali

Jimmy O. Yang                          Dr. Chan Kaifang

Don Lake                                  Brigadier General Brad Gregory

Lisa Kudrow                              Maggie Naird

Noah Emmerich                        General Kick Grabaston

Over the last few weeks, my wife and I have watched the full premier season of Space Force on NETFLIX. Space Force, NETFLIX’s newest original comedy is about the creation and early days of the current American administration’s latest military arm or command if you will. 

This little time-waster stars the comedic genius of Steve Carell and John Malkovich in the title role as the Commanding General and Chief Scientist of the newly minted Space Force. Steve Carell is General Mark R. Naird, long under the thumb of the current Chief of the Air Force, General Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich) is finally given his own branch of the Armed Forces, Space Force. He takes over this new command, much to his dismay, as he was desperately hoping to command the Air Force itself. In creating the new element of America’s fighting might, General Naird (Carell) must battle an inept administration, political sycophants, jealous colleagues on the Joint Chiefs, a staff that is either too stupid, too smart, too incompetent or just spies for a foreign power. On top of that, he has a failing marriage and must raise a rebellious teen age daughter.Not exactly a recipe for success for a professional or personal life. 

For it’s premier season, the story arc consists of General Naird with the assistance of Dr. Mallory standing up the Space Force itself. Naird’s (Carrel) mission, besides standing up the force is to put “American Boots on the Moon!” Naturally, when Naird (Carell) makes his speech during the inauguration of the command, his explanation of “American boots on the Moon” has his own unique spin to it, that I am sure everyone will enjoy.

From the creation of the Force, to the finale of landing on the Moon, Space Force is a light hearted romp. It is not always hilarious, though there are some scenes that are literally laugh out loud. It is amusing, sometimes very silly, and may not be for everyone. If you enjoy “The Office” or Steve Carell as an actor himself, you will enjoy this series. I also found that if you follow current politics in the United States, that there a number of subtle nuances and jokes that increase the potential for enjoyment. Additionally, if you are in the military, or have military experience, the humour and one liners will be appreciated immensely. If you don’t, there may be some nuances that will escape you.

 Now to look at the cast:

Steve Carell as General Mark R. Naird: Carell is Carell, there is no escaping his style and delivery. As I mentioned previously, if you like the Office, you will probably like this show. Carell plays the tightly wound Naird, who is just trying to do his job, amidst all the problems that he is facing. He will break out into song when stressed, has no filter, and is sometimes oblivious of his surroundings or social nuances. Pretty much a typical Carell character. This character, while not unique, provides the vehicle for lead character to deliver the many puns, one liners and innuendos. Carell does a great job in this role, and I continue to be a fan of his work.

John Malkovichas Dr. Adrian Mallory: As I have mentioned in other reviews, Malkovich is a personal favourite of mine. His penchant for a dry delivery of jokes, laden with sarcasm contribute to many of the programs laughs. An accomplished actor, Malkovich continues to add style and substance to any production that he is involved with. As for his character, the self righteous scientist, Mallory is a natural balance to Naird’s “must follow the commands” mentality. The chemistry between Carell and Malkovich is great and really adds to Space Force writ large.

Ben Schwartz as F. Tony Scarapiducci: Scarapiducci is the Space Force public relations officer, or basically in charge of Twitter and social media. Personally, I find his character kind of annoying, but then again, I find most press media types annoying anyways. So I guess he is playing the role well. His character/role, much like all Public Affairs officers always tries to put a positive spin on all activities, no matter what he does to hamper the mission itself. Schwartz is relatively new to me as a viewer, though when I checked his resume, he is pretty accomplished in the comedic realm.

Tawny Newsome as Captain Angela Ali: Newsome portrays the only other really professional serviceperson in the series. A dedicated Air Force officer, her character is serious with a MacGyver like attitude to get things done. Her competence as an officer is a nice balance to the incompetence surrounding her. As with Schwartz, I have not really seen her in anything else, but she does have a prolific Comedy background and has been in numerous programs. I like her character and will definitely look for other programs that she has done and check them out. 

Don Lake as Brigadier General Brad Gregory: The character like Scarapiducci is not up there on my “like” scale. I know he is supposed to be a comedic balance to Naird (Carell), but that is where I think they could have made that character even better. He should have been the consummate professional, trying to help Naird complete his mission. That would leave more avenues for Naird (Carell) to also demonstrate some of his comedic genius. Lake is a solid character actor who could be better employed/utilized in this program. Sometimes, a show does not need everyone to be useless. 

Lisa Kudrow as Maggie Naird: Now we get to the characters who are part of Naird’s family. Kudrow is the estranged wife of Naird and is currently in prison. This further complicates his life as he tries to deal with his wife whom he loves, and the issues of now being a single parent raising a troublesome teenager. Kudrow is ok here, but I am sorry, to me she will always be Phoebe on Friends. I can’t see her on anything else unless the character is similar. Her role on Friends has pretty much type cast her (to me) in that role/character. As Maggie, she has a little bit of Phoebe, but not enough for me to really appreciate it. I hope that as this program continues (and I really hope it does), that I will grow to like her character.

Diana Silvers as Erin Naird: This is another new actress for me, and I have not yet decided how I feel about her talents/skills. Relatively new to the small screen, there is nothing in her resume that I had seen her in before to actually judge or compare. Mind you, she does play a teenager with great angst and confusion believably, I am just not sure on how I feel about the character at this point. As with the mother, (Kudrow), I hope that I will grow to like her character as the show continues. 

There are a host of other actors/actresses in this series of various calibers to support this ensemble. All of them have varying pedigrees in television/Film and comedies specifically. Each and every one of them have brought their own talents to the show to make sure that it is enjoyable. Is this the best new comedy on television? No it is not. Is it consistently hilarious? Again, no. But, can you sit there and be entertained for 30 minutes and escape some of the worlds issues? Yes, you can. If you are looking for something light, topical and a show that while you may not always laugh out loud, you will smile at their antics, then “Space Force” is definitely worth checking out. Hell, there are worse ways to spend you time than this program. I especially recommend this program if you are a fan of Carell and Malkovich, these two are the key to the show and will make sure that you will at least chuckle every once and awhile.

If you are interested in watching something from the key cast members, consider some of the following recommendations: 

Steve Carell                              40-Year-old Virgin, The Office, Dinner with schmucks, Dan in real life

John Malkovich                         RED, RED 2, Billions, Burn After Reading, Con Air, In the Line of Fire

Lisa Kudrow                              Friends, Analyze This, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.

Cast:

Ryan Gosling                             Neil Armstrong

Claire Foy                                 Janet Armstrong

Jason Clarke                              Ed White

Kyle Chandler                           Deke Slayton

Corey Stoll                                Buzz Aldrin

Ciaran Hinds                             Bob Gilruth

Pablo Schreiber                         James Lovell

Shea Whigham                          Gus Grissom

Lukas Haas                                Mike Collins

After having a busy week looking for a new vehicle, we finally got a chance to put in a movie on Saturday night. For this week’s selection, or ok, next in the pile… is “First Man”. This film is a biopic of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. “First Man” has a solid cast and tells the extraordinary journey of mankind’s foray into space, which culminated in the fantastic achievement of landing on the Moon. Ryan Gosling plays the title character (Neil Armstrong) and is supported by a great cast of actors/actresses. 

Does “First Man” live up to the hype and billing as advertised? Yes, and no. My wife and I always enjoy films that are based on a true story, person, and/or event. Primarily, as we have found that Hollywood is continually churning out variations of the same plot all the time, and if it is a true story. We kinda know how it is going to end beforehand. We just want to see how the film will depict it, and if it was worthwhile to spend the 20 bucks for the ticket, or blu-ray. “First Man” while a good movie, about a historic event, is not a great movie if you know what I mean. The cinematography was excellent in the launch/space/flight scenes and at times almost took your breath away. The Director (Damien Chazelle) expertly interspersed file footage with film footage to make you feel like you were watching it for the first time! The scenery, props, costumes etc were first rate. Being a child of the 60’s I remember many of the items fondly and it brought me a back to a simpler time, where my only responsibility was to pick up the toys (If I got around to it) and make sure I finished my dinner. However, I have just digressed, the props and supporting materials were excellent and fit the scenes and era. I looked for some out of place technology while watching and could not find any. (Not saying that there wasn’t any in the film, just that if there was, I did not see it). However, I did find the characters to be wooden and unemotional for most part and lacked chemistry between them, especially Gosling and Foy. 

I have read that Armstrong’s children stated that Gosling and Foy portrayed an accurate portrayal of their parents, however, I found the on-screen presence of these actors lacking. Also, some of the integral portions of their lives were missed. We know that their daughter is sick and sadly passed away, but it was not really mentioned why. There were other holes in their own life that seemed to be missing, also, why were not the other children included in more scenes, as this was about him (Armstrong) would there not have been a little more of his family life? Additionally, why did the director not include the flag planting ceremony on the moon? We see it up in later scenes, but not when he actually planted the flag. I also read that this was a conscious decision by the director, but I firmly believe that this is an important scene that should have been included. Is the movie about Armstrong or NASA and the race to the moon? In either case, I believe it should have been included as it was important to both the agency and the individual. Also, I believe that the backstory of Armstrong should have been included more, even though he was a civilian within NASA, he was a former Navy pilot…easily could have been mentioned or alluded to. These aspects were missed. 

This biopic only takes a small portion of Armstrong’s life. Basically starting with a test flight on Bell X-15 where Armstrong (Gosling) experiences technical difficulties before returning to land, and then culminating on the historic landing on the moon. Even if you are not a history buff, the average person will be aware of the first Moon landing and have heard the names Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. So really not much to add to that synopsis.

As you may have garnered, while I liked the film, I found that there were aspects that could have been better. Primarily, portions of the story line and the chemistry between the main characters. While I am on the subject of the actors, lets take a look at some of the main ones. 

Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong: Gosling, a young Canadian actor who is making a name for himself with certain films, delivers (in my opinion) a very wooden and unemotional performance. There were so many aspects of the mans life that should have generated far greater tension or emotion than what was portrayed. However, if, as I have read, this is an accurate portrayal of the man himself, then so be it. But it did make the film seem slow at times, and almost drag on. Personally, I am not a fan of Gosling’s films as I find he always portrays pretty much the same type of character, and the film choices he has made have not actually been my type of films. I even found Blade Runner 2049 to be a slow film, and I was a huge fan of the original. Additionally, there was very little chemistry between Gosling and Foy. The bond that would be between such individuals who experience such hardships and time apart would be more evident then what was portrayed. 

Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong: Continuing with the above thoughts, I found Foy’s portrayal of Janet Armstrong to also be wooden and unemotional. I enjoyed her in “The Crown” as Queen Elizabeth, but here it was just slow. Even at times of tension I could not get the feeling from her that it was tense and emotional. She is not the queen here; she could give more to the role. 

Jason Clarke as Ed White: I like Clarke as White, he can easily play an astronaut, crooked politician, scientist or soldier. I first noticed him in the series Brotherhood, and as time went along he has been part of the cast of many more films that I liked, i.e. Zero Dark Thirty, White House Down, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Everest to name but a few. He easily fit into this role and the scenes with him were well done. As this is a historical film, his contributions were vital to the storyline and interaction within the film. 

Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton: Chandler always gives a solid performance in any film or show that he is part of, “First Man” is no exception. As with Clarke as White, as a historic film his contributions are integral to the story, and ensured that factual continuity was pretty much maintained. When on screen, he was value added and actually managed to convey intensity or emotion when required.

Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin: Every time I see Stoll on screen, I immediately can’t stand him. Either he is extremely talented, and picks roles that bring out the worst in him, or he really is that way. Either way, I cannot find a part or character in his resume that I liked the character portrayed. I actually had to stop the film to make sure that he was playing Aldrin. I had seen Aldrin on several shows and documentaries and he did not come across as such a douche. Regardless, Buzz Aldrin was a key character in the first landing on the moon, and maybe a bit more screen time and interaction between the two men would have been better for the film. If there was tension between the two, demonstrate that further, if they were buddies, give the audience that feeling. As it stands, because Aldrin was played by Stoll, and he came across as a bit of egomaniac and ass-hat, I could not get the feel of what the real person was.

Lukas Haas as Mike Collins: He actually had very minimal screen time in this film, and his only contribution was to play Collins. I am fully aware that most people only remember Aldrin and Armstrong, but Collins was part of the team and could have received at least some character development. He was pretty much a cardboard cut-out and the few lines he utters in the film could have been relegated to someone off screen. While historically Collins has a great deal to contribute, in this film, Haas was found lacking.

Pablo Schreiber as James Lovell: while Schreiber did not have much screen time, minimal dialogue and was most often seen as part of the ensemble, I found that I could not associate him as James Lovell. As Hanks had played Lovell in Apollo 13, that is what he looks like to me, and now that he looks more rugged, 5 inches taller and more of an action actor, he did not fit the character that most people will now associate with the real individual. Not really an issue, but when a lesser known actor plays a role that was already represented by an iconic actor, he or she will have some pretty big shoes to fill, and will undoubtedly fail in that representation. 

Overall, we found the movie entertaining, though not necessarily due to the characters or the acting itself. It was the subject matter, cinematography, attention to detail of the era that drew us in. While you would think that this film is an action film as well as a biopic, it was slow and long. Especially as there are only a few scenes of intensity throughout this film, and while awesome, it was almost too little, too far apart. The opening sequence was amazing, as well as the launch and landing. Everything else was very slow. Would I recommend this film? Yes, if you have 2 ½ hours to kill and were looking for some authentic shots and great cinematography. But, if you want a more entertaining tale of the journey to the moon, check out The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Both films had far greater tension and action than the First Man. 

Rating: 5.5/10

If you are interested in other films or shows by the key actors/actresses. Consider the following recommendations. 

Ryan Gosling                 The Ides of March, The Big Short, Murder by Numbers

Claire Foy                     The Crown

Jason Clarke                  Everest, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, White House Down, Brotherhood, Zero Dark Thirty

Kyle Chandler               Game Night, Manchester by the Sea, The Wolf of Wall Street

Corey Stoll                    Ant Man, House of Cards, The Romanoff’s, The Bourne Legacy

Cast:

Jennifer Garner                         Riley North

John Gallagher Jr                       Det. Stan Carmichael

John Ortiz                                 Det. Moises Beltran

Juan Pablo Raba                        Diego Garcia

Annie Ilonzeh                            FBI Agent Lisa Inman

Jeff Hephner                             Chris North

Cailey Fleming                          Carly North

Well, here we are again with a review for the Notinhalloffame.com website, blog section, “Was I entertained”. Even though, it is the end of May and spring is supposed to be here, back home in Canada, we had a cold snap over the weekend so it was time again to try a few different shows. After perusing NETFLIX for a bit and watching another episode of Wentworth (Great show), we decided to put in a film. So, after looking at the stack of unwatched Blu-Ray’s, I grabbed Peppermint (2018) to be the next movie to watch. 

Peppermint stars Jennifer Garner and is Directed by the same director (Pierre Morel) who also was involved with the movie “Taken”. After watching Peppermint, this was really no surprise as the style, dialogue, etc was pretty much the same. Peppermint is a standard revenge flick. It adheres to the formula of likeminded films (i.e. Death Wish, Kill Bill) with no surprises, extremely predictable, and plot holes large enough to drive a Mack Truck through. However, it was still good enough to keep us entertained throughout the film.

Peppermint starts off with a pitched battle in a car between Riley (Garner) and some thug. After getting wounded, she gets the upper hand and manages to dispatch this miscreant and leave the car and corpse behind. The next scene starts 5 years earlier where we find out that she is a young mother with a small child, about 10 years old. Rilery (Garner) and her husband are trying to make ends meet, as all young families do. She works in a bank, and he in garage. However, as tight as the money is they still want to have what’s best for their child. In that light, Chris (Hephner) is approached by a colleague at the garage to be a driver in a planned robbery against the local gang, which is led by Garcia (Raba). After a change of heart, Chris tells his colleague no, and goes out with his wife and child to celebrate the daughter’s birthday. This is especially important as a local PTA villainess has destroyed Carly’s (Fleming) birthday party as a revenge tactic for encroaching on her daughter’s turf for selling cookies at the local mall. Actually pretty pathetic, but I understand that stuff like that happens all the time in some schools.

While at the fair, Garcia’s gang does a drive by and kills both Chris (Hephner) and Carly (Fleming), while leaving Riley (Garner) wounded on the ground, and watching her family die in front of her eyes. Detectives Carmichael (Gallagher) and Beltran (Ortiz) arrive, pick up the pieces and put Riley (Garner) in an ambulance and commence their investigation. 

Riley (Garner) identifies the assailants in a line-up and they are brought to trial. However, because the legal system is so crooked, the killers get off, Riley (Garner) goes crazy and gets subsequently sentenced to a mental hospital for actions. Typical movie justice. En-route to the hospital, Riley (Garner) escapes and goes underground. 

Surfacing 5 years later, Riley is back to extract revenge. She has learned new skills, and can handle a weapon or use her fists with equal dexterity. Bent on a path of revenge she commences to track down each and every person who has wronged her family and exacts her own particular style of justice. Detectives Beltran (Ortiz) and Carmichael (Gallagher) join forces with FBI agent Inman (Ilonzeh) to find out who the vigilante killer is that is hunting down all these ne’er do wells and executing them. Of course, as this is extremely predictable, they figure out it is Riley (Garner) and try to catch her before she can finish what the police force cannot do. I will let you watch the film to get the rest of the story line, but needless to say, this film follows all the formula’s for a film of this genre to bring it to a “no-surprise” ending.

Did we enjoy this film? Did it entertain? I would say yes, even though we knew exactly what would happen throughout most of the film, there were still a few surprises and red-herrings to throw us off a bit along the journey. As with the movie “Taken”, this film was full of action, the odd one liner, and some great fight scenes. Yes, there were plot holes, and a few WTF instances when certain things/events occurred, but they were easily shrugged off as Riley (Garner) caught another person on her list to exact her brand of justice. 

Now to look at the cast. 

Jennifer Garner as Riley North: Garner was in fine form for this film, coming back to action roles from a long hiatus while doing RomComs and family friendly films, Peppermint returned Garner to some of her action roots. The first time I remember watching her in a program was in Alias, where she was an international spy. Alias was an enjoyable tv program that lasted for 5 years and was no doubt instrumental in getting her a part in DareDevil and her own spinoff film, Elektra. While these films were panned critically, I found them enjoyable and full of action. Most importantly, it gave her the basic skills for an action film that were needed in Peppermint. What helped make this movie, was that Garner did her own stunts and fight scenes to add to the realism. There were no “face-fade” scenes where the action star would fight, but the face would be blurred to hide the stunt person. Garner has been in enough action films over the years to learn enough skills to make her action sequences believable (Elektra, Alias, DareDevil). For Garner, revenge was the key motivator throughout the film and it was effectively portrayed. While some of the other characters were lacking in development or motive, hers was strong throughout and kept us interested in what the outcome would be (even though we already surmised what it would be). My only problem with Riley’s(Garner) story in this film was that her back-story was not developed enough. It showed clips of Riley (Garner) learning how to fight hand to hand, but a mastery of automatic weapons was never mentioned. This could have been covered very easily with a montage of her at a range or something. Also, I think a scene or two of her researching where everyone who wronged her family would have helped the plot along as well, she seemed to find everyone to easily. Planning sequences would have helped out the continuity portion of the film.

John Gallagher Jr as Det. Stan Carmichael: He did a fair job as the ideological/burnt out (depending on the scene/time period) detective. It was believable, but not over the top. He projected his own inner turmoil well as he handled the drive-by shooting case. His burn-out, alcoholic tendencies come out later in the film, and you think it is for one reason, only to find out the impetus for these actions were another reason entirely. Well done in my opinion. Having watched him in 10 Cloverfield Lane, Newsroom and now this film, I look forward to other roles that he is in.

John Ortiz as Det. Moises Beltran: Ortiz is a solid supporting actor and has made his career doing just that. In Peppermint, there is no difference to his performance compared to his previous roles. He can be the tormented soul or disheveled policeman at the drop of a hat. In this film, as Carmichael’s partner, he gave us just enough confusion in his role to make it interesting. Was he a good cop, was he crooked, or was he just a coward. The finale of the film will give you the answer and it was actually the only real thing in the film that I did not predict in the end. A good performance that reminds the audience that any star, no matter how big, requires a solid support cast to make a successful film or program. 

Juan Pablo Raba as Diego Garcia: While the antagonist of the film, his screen time was limited and his performance very wooden. I think a good “bad guy” would be more menacing and not be named after an island in the Indian ocean. His whole performance was lackluster and even though he was the main “bad-guy” it could have been played far better. John Leguizamo (Waco, John Wick 2, The Infiltrator) would have been a more menacing character than Raba played here. The character required more dimension and exposure, as well as better back story. Sometimes being the feared drug lord is not enough in a movie, the why, what and how have to be included as well. 

Annie Ilonzeh as FBI Agent Lisa Inman: As a supporting role, Ilonzeh did not do much to add to the overall movie. Her main contribution to the plot was actually to start putting the pieces of Riley’s (Garner) actions together, far ahead of Carmichael and Beltran. While she looked familiar, I actually had to look up what other shows I had seen her in. However, after looking at her resume and remembering her roles (finally), I can see that her roles and talent will only increase in time. 

Overall Peppermint was not a bad film, not great, but entertaining nonetheless. Garner does well in the action genre, delivering solid punches (if you will) and even some good one liners (If you watch the film, remember this when the bitchy PTA mother comes on screen, made for a darkly humorous scene). The plot, while predictable still had the odd twist and turn that will keep you watching till the end. If you can get by these factors, and the odd plot holes then you will enjoy the film.

Rating: 5.5/10

If you are interested in seeing other films with the main cast, consider the following recommendations.

Jennifer Garner             13 going on 30, Alias, Draft Day, Ghosts of Girlfriends past

John Gallagher Jr           Newsroom (Excellent show), 10 Cloverfield Lane

John Ortiz                     Messiah, Kong: Skull Island        

Juan Pablo Raba            The 33  

Annie Ilonzeh                Person of Interest, Arrow, Hatfields and McCoys

Cast:

Taraji P. Henson                                    Mary

Billy Brown                                           Tom

Jahi Di’Allo Winston                              Danny

Neal McDonough                                  Walter

Xander Berkeley                                    Uncle

Rade Serbedzija                                    Luka

Danny Glover                                        Benny

After a long chat with the “Chairman” (aka my brother) of the “Notinhalloffame.com” website, he said that he liked my contributions so much so that he vowed to give me a 50 percent increase in my salary. Well since he doesn’t give me anything for these, this vow was like a promise from a politician…full of excrement! Good thing he lives in the Caribbean and I am still in Canada! But anyways, I do enjoy this, and it gives me something to do in retirement. In that light, we can discuss this week’s foray in into Movieland. Of late, most of my reviews have not been of great or even mediocre films, sadly this week is no change. I really want to see a good movie, but unfortunately, some of the movies in the stack of unwatched films just don’t make the grade, or any grade for that matter. 

We started on Friday with the “Longest Week”, starring Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde. Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately for me, I stopped the film after 15 minutes as it was just too painful to watch. This is sad as I was looking forward to watching it as I like Bateman’s films for the most part, and am really enjoying his character in “Ozark”. But, that film, was just like my brother’s promise of a raise….” Just didn’t deliver!” We then tried something on Amazon Prime, and that was a comedy special by Steve Trevino, totally awesome, and highly recommend it. However, it was not suitable to write a review on a guy telling jokes, no matter how good they are. 

Then came Saturday night, and the next movie in the pile was ‘Proud Mary” starring Tariji P. Henson in the title role. I have come to like Henson in the series “Person of Interest” and the co-stars, Neal Mcdonough, Xander Berkeley, Rade Serbedzija and Danny Glover are all very well known entities, and have played varying roles in movies that I really like. So, with that in mind, I was really looking forward to watching it.  However, like my brothers promises of a raise, it was disappointing !

What is Proud Mary about? Well, it started promising with the 1970’s Black exploitation movie vibe that used to be so entertaining. The initial music was good “Papa was Rolling Stone” by the Temptations, and the opening sequences brought back memories of films from my childhood and even put a smile to face at the time…however, right after that, it all went south. We can allude at the start that Mary (Henson) is some kind of hitman/assassin as she breaks into an apartment and shoots a guy with extreme prejudice. After killing her target, she enters an adjoining bedroom to discover a young boy playing video games with headphones on. Even though she was supposed to kill everyone there to ensure that there were no witnesses, some long lost maternal instincts kicked in and she let him live 

Fast forward a few years, Mary (Henson) is tooling around NYC in a beautiful Maserati (as far as I am concerned, this car is the star of the film) as she is watching a boy deliver some drugs. We later find out that this is the same boy that she let live and she has been monitoring him ever since. This young fellow Danny (Winston) is now a drug trafficker for local thug called Uncle (Berkeley) who has a cheezy and very fake Russian accent. After getting smacked around by Uncle (Berkeley) for using his own initiative with a previous customer who tried to rip him off, Danny is back on the street and proceeds to get beaten up by some other ne’er do wells. Finding him curled up and twitching in the fetal position on the ground, Mary (Henson) becomes motherly and takes him home. After hearing the tales of woe from Danny (Winston), Mary (Henson) decides to be an avenging angel and takes out Uncle and others in the vicinity who may have harmed poor little Danny. Did I mention the Maserati? We get to see this car again a few more times as she drives around looking for the bad guys. 

Upon returning to her boss, we find out that Mary (Henson) is working for Benny (Glover) and his son Tom (Brown) and that the Uncle (Berkeley) was part of a rival gang. Fearing a war between the gangs, Mary (Henson) must kill another member of the Russian gang to demonstrate strength. In this instance it is Walter (McDonough), so after some very poor surveillance of the target (She is still in the Maserati, so no one will look twice at that car). Determining a pattern of sorts, she goes for a run, sees him and kills him outright. Meanwhile the Russian mafia leader Luka (Serbedzija) wants to get revenge, and a war brews between the two gangs, shots are fired, people are killed and chaos ensues between to the two rivals.

Meanwhile, Tom (Brown) who is not only Benny’s (Glover) son, but also a former lover realizes that Danny (Winston) is not only the son of a former hit, but also a previous employee of Uncle…putting 2+2 together to make 5, this brain trust finally figures out that Mary (Henson) and Danny (Winston) were the root of all of their problems and tries to take some decisive action. 

Without giving the rest of the story away, there are a few other conflicts, a kidnapping, some poor speeches and sudden insights from some of the cast to culminate in the final battle scene. Here Mary (Henson) thinks that she is the re-incarnation of John Wick or the Equalizer and decides to make a one man (woman) fight against all who have wronged not only the boy Danny, but also Mary herself. Driving into battle in that gorgeous Maserati, she manages to kill everyone in sight, save the day (but not the car) and rescue those who need rescuing. Only mildly wounded, she still manages to hit every target with a pistol while driving or running erratically, and her magic guns only seemed to require reloading twice. You gotta love those 500 round magazines that Hollywood pistols and assault rifles come with! 

To sum up with respect to the plot, it is a very predictable film. The Hitman finds redemption by writing an earlier wrong by blowing up everyone in sight and riding into the distance with her sidekick. The End.

What did I like about the film? Well, the music was good, there were several 1970’s tracks that I always liked, to include Proud Mary by Tina Turner. The initial 70’s vibe that started the film brought back memories of watching movies as a kid. Oh, and of course the Maserati, did I say how much l love that car?!?.

What didn’t I like about the film…well everything else. This film managed to take an exceptional cast and kill them with poor dialogue, a predictable plot line and crappy acting. Was everyone under a contract and had to sign on to this movie? It sure feels like it, there was no chemistry between the cast, the delivery was wooden and the story (besides being predictable) was stilted and jerked along like a millennial trying to drive a stick shift. It was just horrible, and I am surprised that I watched the whole thing. 

As far as the cast, I said before that there were some good actors here, but let’s take a look at them.

Henson as the title character, Mary. Her acting was abysmal, and her inner turmoil between trying to get her motherly instincts in track as well as her killer instincts at bay were horrible. Trying to play the “tough chick” with a gun was almost laughable. She did not move fluidly with the weapons or in the fight seasons. John Wick she was notand it was clearly evident. 

Billy Brown as Tom: given little screen time, he did not have much to work with here. We find out that he is the son of the boss and a former lover. However, even though he figured out who the kid was, he is no Sherlock that is for sure. Usually he is a solid supporting character in many shows (Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The Following, etc) and should stay in that lane.

Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Danny: An actor that I had not really seen before, however, his acting was not all that bad considering what he had to work with. I hope that in the future he manages to get some better roles and co-stars that he can develop his skills. 

Neal McDonough as Walter: He actually had very little impact in this film, well except for getting killed by Mary (Henson). However, I must say, in our house McDonough has the rare talent that no matter what character he plays, we can’t stand him. So, that is either a testament to his acting skills or we just can’t stand him on sight. However, when he is the villain in a film, you know it and he can take the scene from anyone else that he shares it with. However, in this film, He did not have the chance to do so.  

Xander Berkeley as Uncle: Berkeley is an awesome actor...except in this film. As I mentioned before, this must be a case of where he had to do a film as part of the contract. His acting was as horrible as was his accent and it was a godsend when his character of Uncle was finally killed off. 

Rade Serbedzijaas Luka: Serbedzija is also another phenomenal actor who can play a villain like nobody else. But in this film, he was just a card-board cut-out and another b-list actor required to fill out the roster and be ultimately killed. Very disappointing!

Danny Glover as Benny: For me, this was the biggest disappointment of the film. Danny Glover was an excellent actor in the action genre. Who can forget him in the Lethal Weapon franchise? His line “I am too old for shit!” is quoted often in television and in pop culture itself. A prolific actor, who has seemed to have lost his way over the last decade as his appearances are now more of a guest or co-star with less and less impact on the outcome. Very sad, for as I mentioned, I always liked his films in the 80, 90 to 00’s. 

To finalize, did this movie entertain us? Sadly, no. A combination of a poor script, a tired formula and miscast actors/actresses who have all seen better films and days. Were there some highlights or redeeming factors? Well, the Maserati for one, and the final shoot-em up scene was not that bad once you got past Henson’s poor action sequences. Would I recommend it? No, not unless you really had nothing else to watch, and you had to be a fan of the genre and Henson.

Our rating: 2/10

If you are interested in other films/tv shows with the cast, please consider some of the following GOOD recommendations!

Taraji P. Henson            Person of Interest, Hidden Figures, Empire, The Curious case of Benjamin Button

Billy Brown                   Sons of Anarchy, The Following, Dexter

Neal McDonough          Red 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Flags of our Father

Xander Berkeley            The Walking Dead, Justified, The Mentalist, 24

Rade Serbedzija            The Five, Downtown Abbey, Taken 2, 24, Space Cowboys

Danny Glover                Lethal Weapon (1 & 2), Dreamgirls, Bat 21, Flight of the Intruder, Predator 2