Proud Mary

Proud Mary is an action thriller starring Taraji P. Henson as the titular Mary. Focusing on a relationship between a mob hit woman, (Mary) and a child of one of her previous targets. Henson however, is woefully miscast: not selling any of the emotional delivery; with her performance being quite standard and at times bad. Jahi Di’allo Winston is similarly boring; even at times being downright annoying; with the relationship between his character Danny and Mary being so forced it is in no way believable. However, these bad performances are a result of a very poor script. Further shown through the fact that the characters feel like tired action movie cliches, rather than real people. Said cliches can be best represented by Mary and Danny’s relationship; the adoptive mother-son thing feels played out; with the reasoning behind it not making sense at all. This film has plot holes of all shapes and sizes; that range from the ridiculous to the so dumb it will make you groan; with it becoming frustratingly apparent that this film wastes a good premise. The supporting cast with Danny Glover and Neal McDonough are wasted entirely. It is a sad state of affairs to see an actor of Danny Glover’s status being in a film like this; he tries his best elevate the film failing at every turn. Glover’s character is woefully underused and underdeveloped. The rest of the supporting cast has it surprisingly worse, with actors like the previously mentioned McDonough being nothing more than glorified cameos; so that Mary could have a mildly famous face to shoot. The direction by Babak Najafi is a strong disservice to the film; as he never manages to raise it beyond a generic action film. The cinematography is also dull and lifeless, with it being perhaps the most forgettable cinematography of recent memory. The only shallow praise I can afford this film is that the score is a welcome treat in an otherwise uninspired film; with it being memorable after the credits roll. To put it bluntly, this film is the most generic action film so far this year with nothing elevating it beyond mediocrity; with performances so hollow and wooden that you would question if the actors were forced to do it. Don’t go and see it!
1/5
Reviewed by Luke