Movie Review - Peppermint

Peppermint *** (out of 5) (R) As bloody revenge flicks go, this one turns out to be surprisingly gratifying. Jennifer Garner may seem an unlikely vigilante, but she kicks plenty of bad-guy butt for perfectly valid reasons in this vehicle. She plays a loving wife and mother who suffers a tragic, undeserved loss. Five years later, it’s payback time, which she executes in grand style. Others tell how she spent the interim, efficiently explaining her metamorphosis from ladylike to lethal.

The more our world seemingly spins out of control, the more vicarious thrills we get from protagonists who take on any form of Big Evil - corrupt or ineffective governments; major drug or arms dealers; human traffickers; rapacious corporations, etc. That’s at least part of the reason for the surge of superhero epics and adrenaline fests with an ordinary civilian played by a Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Mel Gibson or Liam Neeson righting wrongs with their particular sets of skills that most of us couldn’t handle. Until we all become karate kids who can scratch our own socio-economic or political itches, at least we can enjoy watching a fictional hero/heroine do the job the way we wish we could. (9/7/18)