Execute with Style

Proud Mary is directed by Babak Najafi (London Has Fallen) and co-written by John Stuart Newman  (Get Shorty), Christian Swegal and Steve Antin (Burlesque). Taraji P. Henson (Empire) stars alongside Jahi Di'Allo Winston (Everything Sucks!), Billy Brown (Sons of Anarchy) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon). "Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad". It's time for Taraji P. Henson to kick ass. Will she shine?

I'm really disappointed in Proud Mary. Not only is it a really trashy film, it fails to deliver everything the marketing promised. The aim of a film's marketing is to get audiences to turn up to the cinema. Thankfully, Proud Mary only grossed $21 million worldwide so not many people had to subject themselves to this travesty. Badly directed, poorly written and not enough Taraji P. Henson, Proud Mary ticks the boxes for a film that belongs in the garbage bin. 

Babak Najafi has directed consecutively two awful films. Najafi was behind London Has Fallen in 2016 and now Proud Mary. I hated London Has Fallen but I would call that the better-made film. Proud Mary has style. The style of an amateur. Najafi shows no skill whatsoever. There was an opportunity for inventive action sequences, fun editing and unique camera angles but Najafi takes the pedestrian route and still manages to struggle. The lighting is off in some scenes and the sound is dodgy in others. It was Najafi's job to manage all of this and he does not. Najafi is a lazy film-maker. The concept of Proud Mary is promising, but Najafi's direction partnered with a weak script has led to a film everybody involved will want to forget. Proud Mary could have paid homage to the music of the 80s with a stellar soundtrack, but of course, Najafi would not do something experimental and stylish. 

Taraji P. Henson is the only person involved in this film that deserves some form of acclaim. Henson has delivered better performances in her career, but I don't blame her for not fully committing to such a poor script. As an executive producer, some blame does lie with Henson. She should not have let this version of the film be the version that audiences saw. Henson should have demanded re-writes and re-shoots. Being stuck in production hell is better than damaging her reputation. I liked Henson's performance but there is nothing about this role that is especially memorable. Henson really gets to shine as an action star in the film's final 10 minutes. "Proud Mary" is the backdrop to the film's only exciting action sequence and Henson is kick-ass. I wanted more of this. 

Like Najafi's direction, the script is lazy. At times the script is simple and at others, it is overly complex. Proud Mary lacks a structured narrative. What is this film even about? Gangs? Hit-men? Orphans? Rich people? Proud Mary needed a stronger hook to accompany the 'Taraji P. Henson as a bad-ass' angle and it never finds it. The plot dawdles around until the 60-minute mark when things start to get interesting. I anticipated a plot twist, but the reveal to do with Mary (Henson) and how she ended up working for Benny (Glover) needed more development; it was too vague. Proud Mary is only 80-minutes long and it moves at a very fast pace. This is to the film's detriment; scenes feel choppy, the editing is too blatant and there is not enough time for story and character development. I suspect that a big chunk of Proud Mary got left on the editing room flaw as it was even worse than the final product. 

Proud Mary has a secret up its sleeve that it has hidden from audiences. This is equally a film about Jahi Di'Allo Winston's Danny as it is Henson's Mary. Yes, just like Tomorrowland and A Wrinkle in Time, there is an irritating younger character who steals the spotlight from those the audience actually wanted to see. Winston has numerous laughably bad moments, notably towards the beginning when he manages to intimidate a client. The sequence where he is injured and stumbling through the city was also hard to watch. Winston is not a good actor. Danny's relationship with Mary moves far too quickly; he cares a lot about this random woman he met a matter of days ago. The duo needed a strong bond for the film's finale so the writers had to force and rush this in. Billy Brown and Danny Glover are forgettable. 

Where were the Baby Driver-esque action sequences the trailer promised? There's one near the end of the film but Najafi is no Edgar Wright. It is hard to even call Najafi a film director after London Has Fallen and Proud Mary - he has absolutely no creativity. Taraji P. Henson tries to shine but this role and the script do not let her. Let's throw Proud Mary into the trash, set it alight and let it burn. Thankfully, that awful wig only makes one appearance. 

31

/100

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