Peppermint

STORY: A bereaved Riley Smith (Jennifer Garner) sets out to avenge the senseless murders of her husband and daughter after a self-imposed exile of five years.

REVIEW: Riley Smith is not your typical lady from the posh neighbourhoods of Los Angeles; she is fierce, frightening and accommodating at the same time. After losing her family at the hands of an international drug cartel’s kingpin Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), the accidental deaths of her loved ones, pushes her over the edge. She decides to take matters in to her own hands when the judicial system lets her down as well.

Now, just like any other action flick, you expect an actress of Jennifer Garner’s caliber to land mighty blows and pull off surreal action sequences. And thanks to years of training and gathering ammunition from across international borders, Riley's character is beefed up enough to put up a stellar show. But, that is not the case here. The screenplay is predictable and put together in an insipid fashion, and Garner is somewhat of a misfit: she tries to inculcate grit and gumption to her otherwise bland character, only to look docile and vulnerable .

The squeamish writing and Garner’s unmissable hamming makes it any other half-hearted, run-of-the-mill revenge saga. 'Peppermint' is one of those movies that is riddled with ridiculous clichés and the crucial twists and turns in the diegesis come from a dangerous territory: lazy writing. Woman loses family and purpose in life; makes revenge the centre of it and boom…vengeance comes on a platter! Got it?

The antagonist of the film, Diego Garcia, is is a constant reminder of Bollywood villains from the 80s and 90s, and no, that’s not a compliment. Honestly, there are many scenes pertaining to the drug world that look forced and somewhat irrelevant.

Jennifer Garner shouldering ‘Peppermint’ is perhaps a regrettable decision and some may agree that making this done-to-death revenge saga in the first place defies logic by all means.