There are many reasons to love Sean Penn. From the diversity of his roles in “Fast Times At Ridgemont High”, “I Am Sam”, “Milk”, and “Mystic River” to his devotion to giving back to philanthropic organizations such as Cinema For Peace and UNICEF, Penn’s presence has made an impact on the World around him. In his latest role, “The Gunman”, Penn unveils what some* have thought to be his true identity in life: Undeniable badass.

“The Gunman“

Release Date: Friday March 20th, 2015

Running Time: 115 Minutes

MPAA Rating: Rated “R” for strong violence, language, and some sexuality.

In “The Gunman”, Sean Penn plays Terrier, a mercenary assassin disguised as a non-profit aid worker on a mission to assassinate the Minister of Mines in the Congo with one shot. That single shot created a ripple effect that triggered civil unrest and chaos in the Congo leaving Terrier with no means of re-entry into the country for several years. Unfortunately his orders also meant abandoning the love of his life, Annie which prompted Terrier to leave the world of violence behind…or so he thought.

Fast forward several years when Terrier finds himself, once again, working in the Congo for a (legit, no jokes this time) non-governmental organization providing relief and support to the people in the area. Having moved on from his time hunting others for profit, Terrier discovers that he, himself, has become the hunted.

In an attempt to protect his life, and the lives of his former colleagues, Terrier sets out on a mission to discover who is behind the bounty on his head. He reconnects with Annie (awww), has some pretty hard-core hand-to-hand combat scenes, and ultimately figures it all out (duh).

The film, like many others in its genre, isn’t without its flaws but, taken at face value, it’s a winner. “The Gunman” is an entertaining depiction of a far fetched version of what mercenary life is all about. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film is witnessing Sean Penn in that type of role – total badass.

Overall, on my It’s An Ordinary Blog movie review scale where one is the worst, five is the best, and ten is the worst again: I give “The Gunman” a 3.349830498340394809 with an emoticon based sub-ranking of “You get ’em, tiger!”.

*By some, I mean me. Just me. I think Sean Penn is a badass.