Peppermint (2018)

Plot of Peppermint: Riley North is a bank teller. Her husband is a small time repair shop owner. They have a young daughter Carly. The husband becomes part of a plot to rob a drug lord, only for him and Carly to be killed in a drive by shooting, and Riley to be seriously injured. When Riley recovers from her injuries she identifies the three killers in a line-up, but in court they are freed by a doubtful judge. Riley disappears, but five years later the three killers are found dead hanging from the Ferris Wheel which was part of the family’s last outing. Down on Skid Row we find Riley, now living in a van, pumped up and weaponised and going on the track of the villains. The FBI, in the person of Lisa Inman, gets on the case with the detectives and is able to trace Riley’s history which includes her stealing $50,000 from the bank where she had worked and disappearing into South America. She kills the corrupt judge and works her way through the minor functionaries in the cartel towards Diego Garcia, the boss, while the police look on stunned. How will it all pan out?

Content: No sex or nudity and actually despite there being a lot of drugs about, no drug taking. But some drinking, one of the detectives is an alcoholic and bottles of expensive booze feature in the cartel boss’s places. There is quite a bit of violence. Someone is beheaded off camera and Riley is injured several times with much blood. There is a lot of shooting with all sorts of firearms including a shot gun which looks like something out of Star Wars. The film shows Riley gradually becoming known to the public and being feted for her stand.

A View:  Unfortunately the critics decided that this movie, despite Jennifer Garner’s work, was not worthwhile. There was nothing new in it, they said. Actually is reminded me very much of The Equalizer. But with guns. In its favour, at least Jennifer Garner is not a stick woman so the various fights seem more realistic and it might have made a bit of money despite the negative reviews. It fits well enough into the category of a watch for nothing while doing something else.

Fun fact: The title, Peppermint, relates solely to the flavour of ice cream requested by the daughter on their last  outing.