Suddenly, from the enveloping shroud of irrelevance, Sean Penn bursts onto the scene with what seems to be the latest path to rediscovered glory for any Hollywood leading man: a guns-a-blazin’, globe-hoppin’ action flick a la Kevin Costner in 3 Days to Kill or Liam Neeson in Taken.

Appropriately enough, Penn’s The Gunman is directed by Pierre Morel, the same guy who rejuvenated Neeson’s career in Taken. But unfortunately, any thoughts we had of Penn’s presence perhaps signifying that this one may have a little meat on its bones are put to rest at the 90-minute mark. That’s the point when eye rolls begin as the film sinks into genre formula and becomes just another stupid action movie. Penn will probably not become the next member of the AARP set to fight and shoot his way back into relevance.

In The Gunman, Penn plays Jim Terrier (he’s got tenacity, get it?), an ex-special forces guy who now digs fresh water wells in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the auspices of a neutral non-governmental organization (NGO). But we all know there is no such thing as “neutral” when it comes to international affairs, so it’s not surprising when Jim becomes targeted by some very bad guys who want to kill him. Naturally, he escapes only to discover later that a bounty has been placed on his head. Credit must be given to Penn for completely disappearing in his role as Terrier. It can never be said that this actor doesn’t prepare for his roles. Here, he not only gets the moodiness of his character right but his well-cut physique convinces us of his military past. He’s a definite badass with some mad fighting skills that are called for quite often.

Flash forward to London where Jim hooks up with old friend and former fellow special forces guy Stanley (a disheveled Ray Winstone) who reluctantly agrees to help Jim find out who is after him. Together, they suspect the hit is somehow connected his old firm which, eight years ago, was involved in the execution of DRC’s Minister of Mining.

Flash forward again to Barcelona where Jim confronts Felix (Javier Barden), the one person he knows with a connection to his old firm. Now a successful Spanish businessman, Felix is not only suspect number one, but he’s also shacked up with Jim’s ex-lover Annie (Jasmine Trinca). Sadly, Trinca disappoints in her love-interest role and never works up a convincing chemistry with either of her lovers. She’s proven herself better than this, so let’s chalk it up to Don McPherson’s script – poorly adapted from Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel The Prone Gunman, which fails to effectively incorporate a love thread into an action thriller.

Jim eventually learns from Felix that his old boss and former comrade, Cox (Mark Rylance) is the most likely person behind his death order. Cox heads up a new business venture that could find its dealings compromised if it were ever to get out that he was involved in the tragic events in DRC from eight years earlier.

The Gunman may not be embarrassingly terrible, but those who can’t stomach Penn’s presence because of his unapologetic one-sided political views/actions won’t be convinced he’s an asset to this film. The plot comes across as engagingly complex but not overly-complicated. However, the acting -- save for the Penn and Winstone performances -- appears limp and uninspired. McPherson couldn’t figure out a good way to end his story, so he takes it where any plot set in Spain should never go -- into the bullfighting ring. Akin to kissing under the Eiffel Tower in a French love story, it’s flat out too easy. The Gunman runs about a half hour too long, and at 120 minutes, it feels every bit of it.

(Released by THINKFilm and rated “R” for strong violence, language and some sexuality.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.