Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country's minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead -- and why. Terrier's search leads him to a reunion with Annie, a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman with dealings in Africa.
The Gunman degenerates into dreary setups for guns and gore. Penn merits more. So do we.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar 2015
rotten:
I doubt The Gunman will do much to advance Penn's foray into action-hero bankability, and that's probably a good thing. He's too fine an actor to be mired in nonstop shootouts while flashing his pecs and looking scowly.
– Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
20 Mar 2015
rotten:
A dull, generic retread, made far worse by Penn's self-seriousness as an actor, by the banal political pieties he's grafted on as producer and co-writer, and by the presence of a pitifully retrograde female lead role.
– Christopher Orr,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar 2015
rotten:
I object to The Gunman because it's unconvincing and incoherent.
– Wesley Morris,
Grantland,
23 Mar 2015
rotten:
Rarely, though, have two Academy Award-winning actors been so stunningly off the mark in the same movie.