Peppermint

After struggling Southern California mother Riley North (Jennifer Garner) sees her husband and 10-year-old daughter slaughtered in a drive-by killing at a local Christmas carnival, she is able to identify the gunmen in a lineup. But corruption corrodes the criminal justice system and the guilty suspects are released. And that’s when North steals thousands of dollars and drops off the grid, becoming an urban vigilante determined to wreak vengeance—against drug lord Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), the dishonest district attorney, a crooked cop, and a complicit judge. At first, detectives Stan Carmichael (John Gallagher Jr.) and Moses Beltran (John Ortiz) are reluctant to blame North for a subsequent series of murders. But then FBI agent Lisa Inman (Annie Ilonzeh) finds indisputable evidence of North’s continuing vendetta against the injustice her family suffered. Superficially directed by Pierre Morel, the predictable plot becomes increasingly unbelievable, even ludicrous, while being reminiscent of every Death Wish/John Wick genre thriller ever made. Although hard-bodied Garner duly earned her stunt-stripes on TV’s spy actioner Alias, the script skims over her five-year transition from bereaved housewife to ruthless fighter/expert shooter, so there is zero character development. A mediocre film sprinkled with revenge clichés, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Pierre Morel and a “Justice” behind-the-scenes featurette (2 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing thriller.] (S. Granger)