Review Roundup: Action-Thriller THE GUNMAN Opens Today

Sean Penn stars in the new action-thriller THE GUNMAN, which hits theaters nationwide today. The film was directed by Pierre Morel, who is best known for directing TAKEN and DISTRICT 13.

The story follows a former Special Services soldier (Penn) who wants to leave the operation after suffering from PTSD. But before he can settle down with his long-time lover, he is sent on a mission to Europe for one last adventure.

THE GUNMAN stars Sean Penn, Idris Elba, Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, and Ray Winstone.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It's not a hard and fast rule, but in general when the main character, sometime in the third act, says, "I did some bad things ... " and stares off into the middle distance, the implied end of the sentence is "including this movie." I take no particular pleasure in reporting that this is the case in "The Gunman,"...

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The production value is high, the various global hot spots make an interesting canvas used well by cinematographer Flavio Martinez Labiano. Bardem, Elba, Winstone and Rylance, major talents all, do what they can with what they have. But the maze in which they've been dropped has too many dead ends.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: ...oh, why go on? THE GUNMAN degenerates into dreary setups for guns and gore. Penn merits more. So do we.

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Director Morel brings some style and speed to the proceedings, though I found "The Gunman" increasingly numbing in the carnage department. Compared with someone like Neeson, Penn's avenging angel is a less relatable fellow.

Marshall Fine, Huffington Post: Sean Penn, welcome to the corps of aging action heroes. Unfortunately, the script, while making broad political points, otherwise plays as by-the-numbers action fodder.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The action hero stars of THE MOMENT are either old men or young women, a dynamic no doubt familiar to the power brokers in Hollywood. Penn may seem an odd fit, but as an actor, he's on target.

Rex Reed, Observer: For meat-headed incoherence, a badly written, poorly directed and confusingly acted muddle of global nonsense, THE GUNMAN is another ill-conceived entry in the latest dopey trend of middle-aged men blowing up stuff in an attempt to carve off a piece of the macho action market...

Max Nicholson, IGN: While it has its fair share of white-knuckle moments, THE GUNMAN gets bogged down by uneven storytelling and a mostly wasted cast.

Mick LaSalle, Dispatch: Although the story might have a certain sameness - calm interlude followed by attack, then a shorter calm interlude followed by a bigger attack - the action varies enough and the central mystery is arresting enough to maintain a grip on the viewer.

Kofi Outlaw, Screen Rant: THE GUNMAN is pretty much a generic and somewhat formulaic-looking piece of action cinema - one which simply substitutes the trick of making middle-aged Liam Neeson into an action badass, for making middle-aged Sean Penn into an action badass.

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