Proud Mary showcases Taraji P. Henson

Movie Title: Proud Mary

Grade: C

Rating: R, 1 hour 29 minutes

In a Nutshell: Who doesn’t love Taraji P. Henson? I thought she was great in Hidden Figures, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She is equally competent on TV, such as in Empire Season 1 and Person of Interest: Season 1.

I expected great things from her in this film and wasn’t disappointed. She’s much more talented than this script and is the only reason worth seeing this movie.

Tips for parents:

Violence, murder
Several people beat up a young boy.
F-bombs and other profanity.
Bloody deaths.

Uplifting theme:

Family
Second chances, redemption

Things I liked:

Danny Glover still has it, although he’s so lovable that it’s hard to take him seriously as a hard-core hit-man boss.
I was waiting for that famous Tina Turner moment when the Proud Mary song would play while Taraji kicked butt. You have to wait a long time, but it’s fun when it finally happens.

Things I didn’t like:

The blonde wig doesn’t quite work for Taraji like it did for Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, but we get the point.
Cliched Russians.
Not a single cop to be found, despite all of the violence and shooting in the neighborhood.
That last shoot ’em up scene was ridiculous.
No advance screenings for the media or critics to preview the film. Haven’t the producers heard of marketing?