Cast – Taraji P. Henson, Billy Brown, Danny Glover, Neal McDonough, Xander Berkeley & Margaret Avery

Director – Babak Najafi

Genre – Thriller film/Drama

Running Time – 1h 29m

Taraji P. Hanson in an action movie? As the lead? Doesn’t sound quite right does it? Well, this is very much the case in her latest flick, our focus today, titled Proud Mary. To be fair though we have seen her in a similar type of action setting in the series Person of Interest. So, in that sense it’s not so far fetched to picture her as a leading lady who carries a gun and uses it in the correct manner against all them bad guys.

The Plot

In this flick, officially in cinemas today, Taraji is Mary, 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.

Come to think of it, I like this concept, something that probably hasn’t been done enough of, if at all. What concept is this exactly you ask? The one of a strong black woman cast as a hit woman. And might I add that it’s not just any lady, it’s the powerhouse herself Taraji whose made massive inroads over the past couple of years with some impressive titles under her belt.

To get me hooked, I need to be intrigued and this also applies from a movie point of view. I was with this one but, honestly, was also skeptical. It’s explainable why but there’s a certain level of skepticism that hits you after you see the trailer and see its whole set up. Maybe it’s just me I don’t know. Anyway, onto my thoughts about the movie.

Despite everything, I found myself liking the movie. It’s got a nice flow to it and doesn’t look to be anything either than what it is. In another sense it’s clear that it’s too simplistic in its approach and needed a bit of refinement, but overall it’s not a bad movie to watch especially if there’s nothing blatantly better to watch at the time. Some might differ especially judging from the reaction I saw from others during and after the screening but it’s according to personal taste.

Like me, you might be a bit skeptical but Proud Mary is a good movie to kill a bit of time with. In no way is it the best I’ve seen but it isn’t the worst either. Taraji holds her own and does a decent job with what she has to work with. The supporting cast isn’t too bad either and helps get the movie over the line even though it’s just barely. More could have been done with it as the concept isn’t that bad, probably more of a good start than anything else. Proud Mary manages to get an okay 3 out of 5 rating from me.

Special shout out to MNet Movies and Ster-Kinekor for the invite!