Proud Mary (2018)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  3 / 10

  Proud Mary shouldn't be too proud of itself. Taraji P. Henson playing a hitwoman, sassy R&B soundtrack, action to the beat of Tina Turner's "Rolling on a River" imitating an audacious version of 'Baby Driver'. All these elements were included in the promotional material, and yet only one, no wait make that half of one, was delivered. This may have been the first time I nearly fell asleep during an action thriller. Mary, a hitwoman working for an organised crime family, takes its upon herself to care for a young boy who's father she killed in a professional hit. Honestly, I feel sorry for her. It's clear she is capable of portraying a charismatic sassy independent woman who can handle an arsenal of submachine guns. Her onscreen chemistry with Winston was surprisingly well developed and conveyed through the use of motherly "banter" (only way I could describe it) with the boy as if he was her own. That's about all the film has going for itself. What a snoozefest! An amateur director, screenplay writers and production team have clearly tainted what could've been an exciting premise and opportunity for Henson. The dialogue was instantly forgettable and had no punch. The directing style was basic and dull. The story was generically derivative and wasted the talent of its main star. The supporting cast looked disinterested, particularly Glover, and all had as much personality as Najafi's directing (hint: none). I've saved the worst til last for you, the editing. The action was edited adequately, it was actually simple conversational scenes that made me feel nauseous. Constantly switching to every actor's face, even if they weren't verbally spewing out the shoddy script, every half a second. Henson to Glover passes to Brown slaps it to Winston throws it back to Henson, she shoots passed Brown...goal!!! To call this an action film is like describing 'Sense & Sensibility' as a horror flick, far too infrequent. The last ten minutes managed to wake me up but it was too little too late. Should've focussed more on the professional hits rather than the guilty mother story. Proud Mary Poppins y'all!

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