Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Peppermint Blu-ray Movie Review

Revenge is a dish best served with peppermint ice cream.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 11, 2018

The letter of the law does not always spell “justice.” One of the most interesting gray lines in cinema, and in society, for that matter, is that which cuts down the middle of justice, when the system and reality do not come to the same conclusion. As Jennifer Garner’s Riley North, a widow who lost her husband and daughter to gang violence, takes her fight to the gangs, social media explodes in her favor, evidence that the movie is aware that the rooting interest in her is not because she is the protagonist of the movie played by a familiar face but because she’s one of the unfortunate ones for whom justice has failed. Retribution is right in her case, Twitter says. That gray line is a starting point that has been explored in countless other movies about vengeance outside the law, including the classic 1974 picture Death Wish. Peppermint is a lukewarm, overlong, and plodding film with no real good ideas. It brings an appetite for violence and revenge to the screen, as well as a female and motherly perspective, but otherwise does nothing to make a name for itself within the vigilante genre.

She begins.

Riley North (Jennifer Garner) is a loving mother and wife. She and her husband Chris (Jeff Hephner) are parents to a beautiful little girl named Carly (Cailey Fleming). The family is struggling financially, and Chris considers taking part in a plan to steal from a notorious, and ruthless, drug lord named Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba). Chris ultimately chooses not to participate, but it's too late. Word has leaked out and Garcia sends his men to kill him. While the family is celebrating Carly's birthday at a fair, Carly and Chris are murdered in a drive-by shooting. Riley is shot in the head but survives after a month-long coma. She is able to identify the two gunmen and the driver, but Garcia has deep pockets and has paid off the judge (Jeff Harlan), who releases the defendants on various technicalities. Following an outburst of righteous indignation in the courtroom, Riley is assigned stay at a mental health facility. She escapes, however, and spends five years in seclusion, training herself in the art of violence. Now, she is armed and ready to take the fight to Garcia and his operation, as well as others who wronged her in the past, willing to kill anyone who stands between her and her target.

Peppermint is a grim movie, a picture made to drain the character of her life and draw the audience into a terrible world of unspeakable heartbreak, violence, and retribution. The film follows Garner's Riley from the impact of her physical and emotional wounds on through to her evolution into a capable killer. The picture spares the audience from a look into her training. It's simply assumed with the passage of time and her evolution from humble waitress Sarah Connor to killing machine Sarah Connor. Perhaps "machine" is the wrong word. She's depicted in the movie as capable and willing but still clearly a little fearful and very much human. Her first large-scale assault against the cartel sees her not at all hesitant to pull the trigger but clearly a little rattled by the danger and the realization of what it is she's doing and what she is up against (a parade of heavily armed thugs). That changes as she draws closer to Garcia, grows even more confident in her abilities, and begins to realize that she might just pull off the impossible. But even if she fails, she knows she has nothing left to lose. Her death would bring closure to her life and, if she believes in such things, a reunion with her murdered loved ones. She wants her revenge, but death is also an escape from the emotional scars that have come to define her life.

Garner is quite good in the role. She is believably capable with a weapon and when wounded and, more important, of revealing the character’s human side, too, which has been changed since her days as a mother, wife, and bank teller but still there in some form or fashion, driven by a different purpose. She's still an individual with feelings and fears, not just a robot with a gun. But the movie cannot rise, even with Garner’s performance driving it. Peppermint is hopelessly slow and repetitive, dull and incapable of growing beyond highly defined genre constraints it uses as limitations, not challenges to overcome. The entire third act, outside of a single revelation, is unnecessary. Riley approaches her target partway through the film but cannot finish the job, leaving the rest a regurgitation of what’s already been seen. Peppermint is capably crafted; Director Pierre Morel (Taken) constructs the film competently and balances Garner's character against the violent shoot-outs, stabbings, and other fight scenes but struggles with pace and finding a purpose beyond bloodlust, which is, admittedly, as much the script's problem as it is the director's.

Peppermint Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Peppermint was digitally photographed. Universal has chosen not to release a UHD at this time, but just by looking at the movie it's doubtful that any increase in detail in particular would add much to the experience. As they are, textures in 1080p suffice, with good core facial and clothing definition and well resolved grime, blood, and gory wounds. Environments, particularly the densely envisioned Skid Row location, reveal worn textures and quality clarity across the screen at any given moment, day or night. Image clarity is strong with only a few inherently smudgy corners visible throughout. Colors are fine, with nice punch and saturation to lights at the fair where Riley's family is killed. Blood pops when it's a focal point and a fiery explosion is impressively saturated. Black levels generally hold up well but a nighttime exterior shot at the 1:05:15 mark is noticeably pale with a slight purple push. Some banding across a dawn sky at the beginning of the movie is visible, as it is in the subsequent scene when Jennifer Garner's character sews up a leg wound inside a grungy, rusted out van on Skid Row. Banding is never a major problem but does creep into the frame on a few more occasions. A bit of noise is evident throughout the film as well, again as usual, and per the way digital photography works, in low light situations.

Peppermint Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Peppermint features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is suitably, but not substantially, large with good coverage around the stage. Music often extends into the surrounds but is primarily managed by the fronts. It never blares at reference volume, playing as more of a complimentary piece rather than a sonic centerpiece. An explosion in chapter eight is suitably deep with good energy, supported by thrown debris through the stage. Another explosion in chapter 12 is solidly deep but not intense, which really describes the whole track. The track produces a fair thump to gunfire, particularly the Kel-Tec shotgun Riley uses during her first assault on the cartel. Additional fire from various small arms pop and smack well enough. Good city atmospherics emerge during exterior scenes, making fine use of surround immersion for general din as well as location specific effects, such as a loudspeaker announcement on a bus early in the film which emanates from a discrete rear location. Dialogue is clear and center focused with no prioritization problems to report.

Peppermint Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Peppermint's Blu-ray contains a featurette and a director's commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and an iTunes digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Justice (1080p, 2:16): A lightning-quick plot recap and character introduction.
• Audio Commentary: Director Pierre Morel offers a nicely cadenced track that discusses photography and technical construction, locations, plot, characters, performances, film structure, music and sound effects, and more basics.

Peppermint Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Peppermint plays within genre trope and never ascends above trite, repetitive, and frankly oftentimes dull action and predictable storylines. Garner is good in the role, limited by her script but capably pulling off a very wounded woman who turns to the gun to make things right, to avenge her family's senseless death. It's a decent enough time waster but chances are many will find it far too long in the tooth, particularly a third act that does little to advance the story in any meaningful way, advancing instead only the movie's runtime. Universal's Blu-ray delivers capable video and audio. A commentary and a featurette comprise the supplemental materials. Rental.