THE GUNMAN | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"THE GUNMAN"
(2015) (Sean Penn, Javier Bardem) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Action: A mercenary sniper becomes the target of a hit squad himself years after pulling off an assassination that cost him his one great love.

PLOT:

Jim Terrier (SEAN PENN) works as part of a team of mercenaries hired by a multinational corporation to run black ops in the Congo back in 2006. He has fallen in love with Annie (JASMINE TRINCA), a beautiful health-care professional there to help those caught in the crossfire of a brutal civil war. When Jim is ordered by his bosses, Cox (MARK RYLANCE) and Felix (JAVIER BARDEM), to assassinate the local Minister of Mining, he does so with utmost sniper precision. But he must flee Africa to avoid detection, not even able to say goodbye to Annie.

Eight years later, Jim is the target of a hit squad himself and barely survives. He tracks down Cox, who is now a high-ranking executive at the company, to warn him that he might also be in danger. Jim then sets off for Barcelona to find Felix and discovers that he has married Annie and started a company himself. When another hit squad descends on Felix's Spanish villa, Jim and Annie are forced on the run and end up taking refuge with one of Jim's former espionage buddies, Stanley (RAY WINSTONE).

Before long, Jim is able to surmise that Cox is behind the hit orders in order to protect a major business deal going down for the company. Matters turn increasingly violent and deadly as Jim tries to keep Annie safe and stay one step ahead of a ruthless team of killers. At the same time, he is dealing with Post-Concussion Syndrome that brings on sudden and intense headaches and even blackouts. He begins to suspect that the only one he can trust is an enigmatic Interpol agent named DuPont (IDRIS ELBA).

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens, especially males, may have some interest due to the amount of hard-R action in the film.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong violence, language, and sexuality.

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