Reel Critics: Penn is mightier than ‘Gunman’

With an R-rating and a stark title like “The Gunman,” there’s little doubt this movie will deliver lots of brutal violence and mayhem to the target audience. Director Pierre Morel brings his action chops from “Taken” to this effort. He clearly remembers the success of casting serious but aging actor Liam Neeson as the hero of that story.

A newly buffed Sean Penn takes on the role of a CIA assassin for Morel. He joins Neeson, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the burgeoning class of actors over 50 making hard-charging action flicks. Penn has clearly been working out in the gym. He misses no opportunity to bare his chest and show off his manly physique as he plows through the bad guys.

The screenplay is a retread of many spy thrillers and crime dramas. All the grueling fights, beat-downs and shoot-outs are well staged. But it’s all been done before and done better. This is a B-movie that gets the job done but will fade from cinematic memory very quickly.

—John Depko

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Prior knowledge helps with ‘Insurgent’

If you haven’t seen last year’s “Divergent,” the first movie of this dystopian series, you might be a bit lost. I was surprised how much I’d forgotten except for star Shailene Woodley and two villains.

With society split into factions, the well-educated Erudites have the upper hand (and better weaponry) thanks to power-hungry leader Jeannine (Kate Winslet).

Tris Prior (Woodley) and a small band of the badass Dauntless team are now in hiding. Plagued by bad dreams of her last movie, Tris chops off her hair as symbolic of her bravery by using only a dull pair of kitchen shears to style a chic ‘do and create highlights.

Tris and hunky Four (Theo James) remind us of their newfound love for each other every chance they get. In between, there’s evil plotting that doesn’t make sense, but that’s what rebellion is all about.

Thanks to wicked Jeannine and smart-mouthed Peter, one of Tris’ ambitious colleagues (“Whiplash” star Miles Teller), “Insurgent” is entertaining enough to generate resurgent interest in one more sequel.

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Will ‘It’ be followed by sequels?

Horror fans might enjoy checking out “It Follows.” Short on big stars but long on suspense, this little indie takes the standard teen scream formula and runs with it. Well, it’s not exactly running, but certainly scary walking.

Jay (Maike Monroe) is a pretty blonde who lives in a quiet neighborhood not unlike that in “Halloween.” On a date with her new crush, she chooses to ignore the time-honored taboo of all scary movies: She has sex.

Of course, the guy dumps her, but not before he drugs her, drags her to an abandoned warehouse and tells her he has now passed “It” on to her. “It” is a strange, supernatural presence that can take any human form and will come after her and kill her. Why? Because it’s a movie.

But there’s a loophole: Jay can pass “It” on to someone else by having more sex. Boy, this sounds a lot more frisky than playing Cootie when I was a kid.

“It Follows” is slow but deadly atmospheric because nothing is explained to us, nothing follows a pattern, and nothing can seem to stop the grisly chain of events that make us slink lower and lower in our seats in dread. A new horror classic has been born.

—Susanne Perez

JOHN DEPKO is a retired senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. He lives in Costa Mesa and works as a licensed private investigator. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.