Peppermint (2018)

A brand new action flick from director Pierre Morel (District 13, Taken, Paris with Love and The Gunman).

Peppermint follows a mother on a revenge mission against a cartel after they take her husband and daughter from her on her daughter's birthday.

It’s been a minute since she wrapped up the action series Alias back in 2006, and her last big stint in an action movie was The Kingdom in 2007. After spending ten years leaning into comedies and dramas, Jennifer Garner is finally (thankfully!) making her return to the action genre.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850820/

movie trailer:



The story kicks off on September 7, 2018, and it hits American cinema on September 27, 2018.

Screenwriter: Chad st.

Cast: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Method Man, Richard Cabral, Annie Ilonzeh, Juan Pablo Rabello, Tyson Ritter, Pell James, Chris Johnson, Kyla Drew, and Cailey Fleming.

New promo for the movie:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnE4zDyA...ennifer.garner

The premiere hit Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 28th. Garner was out there signing autographs for her fans:



The actress looks absolutely stunning! 😍 She’s a mother of three and 46 years old.
Honestly, she looks like she's 36.

I'm just bummed that the release in the US and Canada lines up exactly with The Nun and God Bless the Broken Road.

But hey, I'll be the first one at the American cinema box office on September 27th. 🍿

Honestly, I'm pretty surprised by this too. It's definitely got me wondering. 😁

The movie hasn't even hit American cinema screens yet, but people are already speculating about a potential sequel:

https://www.bustle.com/p/will-a-pepp...lking-11490297

Three clips from the film plus the movie trailer:



Trailer with English subtitles:

By the way, Jennifer Garner actually performs stunts herself. Of course, she does have her stunt double, Shaun Duggins, who is also a close friend in her private life. But she handles most of the action herself. They actually worked together on the series Alias, which is where they first met.

I remember hearing that while filming a scene for the movie Daredevil, Garner got tangled up in some wires, and Ben Affleck had to jump in and save her. Later, Garner admitted that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here. Because of how she got caught, she was basically flying headfirst toward a wall. People on set said that at that speed, hitting the wall would have killed her instantly.
I actually watched that special feature on the DVD Daredevil when I rented it from my local video rental store.

As for whether this movie gets a sequel, it all comes down to the box office. Personally, I’d love to see it, but I honestly think The Nun is going to eat it for breakfast.

I don’t know about you guys, but the guy who directed The Gunman shouldn't be allowed to direct anything ever again—not even a damn commercial for pads. Honestly. But hey, maybe the dude was just high out of his mind during filming.

hiddenowl20 said:Whether this movie gets a sequel really just comes down to the box office—I'd love to see it, but I have a feeling The Nun might just eat it for breakfast.

I think that's a real possibility.
It’s such a shame, too—Jennifer seems so motivated in this one.

Bryan Rogers87 said:I honestly don't know. In my opinion, the guy who directed The Gunman doesn't deserve to ever step foot on a set again—not even to shoot a commercial for pads. But hey, who knows? Maybe he was just on drugs while they were filming.

The Gunman I haven't actually seen it yet, so I can't really say anything about that movie.

Taken I just finished watching it and honestly, I thought it was fantastic. I went back and checked out the second and third installments too—they were decent enough, I guess, but they didn't come anywhere close to the quality of the first one.

I honestly don't know the exact box office numbers for each one, who most people actually preferred, or what the critics had to say about them. But if you ask me? My personal ranking—from best to worst—follows the order they were released.

I haven't actually sat down to watch the series yet, but I did read that it got the axe after just two seasons. Still, the fact that there are three movies and a series out there tells me the story was solid. It clearly feels like that first film really laid down some great groundwork.

Peppermint It honestly feels more like a standalone film to me. While part of me would love to see a sequel, I have this gut feeling that they’ll wrap everything up by the end of this one. If they actually decide to go out and shoot a follow-up, it’s going to be just like... TakenAnd people will start thinking that way too. Seen it before. They won't give a damn about it anymore once it starts hitting them where it hurts—their bottom line.

Just like I called it, The Nun absolutely Peppermint'd for breakfast. Critics absolutely trashed it, too. So yeah, looks like there won't be a sequel.

The Nun has pulled in $5.4 million so far, making it the highest-grossing entry in The Conjuring Universe and finally knocking Annabelle: Creation off its throne.

Peppermint has only made $750,000 up to this point. Critics have been calling it Death Wish on steroids—basically a piece of candy dropped at the bottom of a purse. They’re saying Garner deserves much better than this, and that the whole thing just throws Garner-in hard work and effort right into the trash.

I guess we should wait until September 27th to see it for ourselves before making a final call. Honestly, knowing Garner's career, her acting, and how she picks her projects, I just can't see her jumping into such a bad movie. Especially not after being away from the action genre for 11 years.

Critics are raving about Hereditary, which I actually thought was pretty bad. They also loved mother!, which ranks as one of the absolute worst movies I've ever sat through.

On the other hand, they're praising A Quiet Place, which I thought was awesome. And they're totally split on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which is honestly one of the most insane, great movies I've seen, despite having a worldwide box office of $312 million.

Here is what a real fight looks like versus how they show it in the movie:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnZTKOPh...ennifer.garner

The movie currently holds a 6.6/10 on IMDb.

As I’m sitting here typing this, the ratings breakdown looks like this:

1,045 people gave the film a 7 - 25.8%
654------------------------------- 8 - 16.2%
627------------------------------- 6 - 15.5%
608------------------------------- 10 - 15.0%
340------------------------------- 9 - 8.4%
307------------------------------- 5 - 7.6%
175------------------------------- 4 - 4.3%
138------------------------------- 1 - 3.4%
87-------------------------------- 3 - 2.1%
67-------------------------------- 2 - 1.7%

I was at the movie theater yesterday for the premiere, and honestly, all I can say is 🤦
What a massive letdown! I’d give this one a 6/10. And frankly, that’s only because the soundtrack is killer and Jennifer Garner absolutely crushes her role. Without those two things, the score would be way lower.

I’m not going to drop spoilers, but I am going to explain my frustration with this flick using "white text" logic—which might contain a tiny bit of a spoiler. So, if you’re dying to see this movie just like I was, I’d suggest you skip my reasoning entirely.

The Breakdown:

1. This movie isn't even half as good as the movie trailer.
2. The trailer actually gives away one major plot point.
3. They cut entire scenes that are vital to the story, yet they left them perfectly intact in the trailer.
4. While watching, you get this nagging feeling that you're viewing a direct-to-DVD release rather than something meant for an American cinema screen.
5. The opening actually shows promise and looks pretty solid. It uses flashbacks to set the stage, but it’s missing those key scenes I mentioned earlier.
6. Everything seems fine until the cartel members start shooting at the family. Right after that, it feels like someone hit the fast-forward button. Riley North gets shot, along with her husband and daughter, but she’s the only one who survives. Next thing you know—Riley wakes up with a short haircut, finds out her family is gone, and claims she saw the killers' faces. Next scene—Riley identifies the killers through glass. Next scene—the killers' lawyer shows up to bribe her, noticing a bottle of antipsychotics on the table. Next scene—everyone is in court where the lawyer gets the killers released.

There is zero flow between those moments and the actual story they're trying to tell. It feels like the crew filmed extra footage to fill the gaps, but the director insisted on a shorter runtime. It’s like they just decided to keep some parts and toss others just to rush toward the action.

7. More than half an hour of this is pure, mindless action. Riley just shoots anyone in her path, jumping from building to building, taking out cartel members, chasing people in cars, threatening guys in stores, crashing into an ex-"friend's" house, and even decking someone...
And while you're watching all that, you completely lose track of why she’s doing any of this in the first place.

8. Once the dust settled, I felt like the writer and director weren't really trying to tell a story about a mother seeking revenge against a cartel. Instead, the subtext feels more like a commentary on the American attitude toward Latinos living in the States or those migrating to the USA for a better life.

My advice? Wait for a better version to come out before you watch it. Seriously, it doesn't deserve your $12 or anything more.

Or just skip it altogether and watch Taken, which is miles better than this.

Fair enough, but I just don't see the lead actress in this kind of role. She’s a decent actress, she just doesn't fit the part.
If you aren't expecting anything groundbreaking from a standard action flick, you'll probably be fine with it.

hiddenowl20 said:8. Once the dust settled, I got the feeling the writer and director weren't actually trying to tell a story about a mother seeking revenge against a cartel. Instead, the subtext seems to be more about the American attitude toward Latinos living in the States and those migrating to the US in search of a better life.

🤦

Cut the nonsense.☕

Bradley Nelson2 said:The lead actress just doesn't fit this kind of role. It's a bad match, even if her acting is actually pretty decent.

🤦

Maybe watch all five seasons of alias, plus the Daredevil and Electro movies, before you start talking. ☕