Sean Penn is a Hawaiian shirt-wearing action star in the first official trailer for Pierre Morel’s “The Gunman,” released Thursday by Open Road.
The action film casts Penn as Jim Terrier, an international spy trying to clear his name who is forced to go up against his former friend, played by perennial bad guy Javier Bardem (“Skyfall”).
“We did some bad things,” Penn tells his love interest, Jasmine Trinca (“The Son’s Room”). “I did some bad things.”
Bardem, who apparently didn’t see what Penn can do with a sniper rifle in the first third of the trailer, kidnaps his female friend and holds her hostage. Eventually the two Oscar-winning actors (“No Country for Old Men” for Bardem, “Mystic River” and “Milk” for Penn) must go head-to-head.
Morel, who directed Liam Neeson in “Taken,” has experience molding highly-acclaimed and serious actors into unexpected action stars. It looks like he might do it again with Penn.
Idris Elba (“Prometheus”), Ray Winstone (“The Departed”) and Mark Rylance (“Intimacy”) costar in the international thriller, which was adapted from Jean-Patrick Manchette’s bestselling spy novel by Don MacPherson and Pete Travis. A24 and Open Road Films are handling U.S. distribution, with Nostromo Pictures, Silver Pictures and StudioCanal producing.
“The Gunman” hits theaters March 20, 2015.