Film

Peppermint

Name: Peppermint
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: 2018
Cast: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Juan Pablo Raba, Annie Ilonzeh

A grieving mother becomes an unstoppable vigilante after her family is murdered and the system fails her. Jennifer Garner delivers raw intensity in this taut revenge thriller that trades plot subtlety for momentum and cathartic violence. Lean, efficient, and made for audiences who want to watch someone burn down the people who deserve it.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a lean revenge story anchored by a wounded, committed lead performance, where grief hardens into methodical, physical set pieces and the star carries nearly every scene.

Skip it if the violence is unflinching and the tone stays grim, so if brutal action and a heavy, lingering sense of loss would wear you down, this will feel like a lot to sit through.

What it asks of you: Expect a brisk hundred-odd minutes, mostly lean and kinetic, with the grief setting the mood early and the tone staying hard rather than playful.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Kill Bill: Vol. 12003

A masterclass in stylish vengeance cinema. Uma Thurman's relentless mission across the globe has the same surgical precision and moral clarity—wronged woman, clear targets, no apologies. Visual feast with genuine stakes.

But Nearly two-and-a-half hours of build-up before the main event, plus Tarantino's trademark digression and anachronism. Some find the style overpowering the substance.

The Invisible Man2020

Elisabeth Moss hunted by an unseen threat in a thriller about control and invisibility as metaphor for abuse. Like Peppermint, it's economical and furious, powered by a woman's refusal to be victimized. Genuinely suspenseful.

But More psychological horror than action. Some scenes are deliberately uncomfortable to watch, and the pacing is deliberate rather than propulsive.

You Were Never Really Here2017

Joaquin Phoenix's damaged fixer rescues a kidnapped girl in a film that understands trauma and violence as intrinsically connected. Raw, brutal, visually stunning. A revenge film that earns every blow.

But Fragmented editing and a fractured narrative make it demanding to follow. Extremely dark and grim—no catharsis, only damage.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Peppermint

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Destroyer2018

Both feature women destroyed by a specific man, but Destroyer refuses the revenge fantasy entirely, showing instead the actual cost of living through that kind of damage. One accelerates, one decomposes.

Nicole Kidman as a devastated undercover cop emerging from a long con, ravaged and searching for the man who destroyed her. Like Peppermint, it's about a woman erased by violence, but told through accumulated loss rather than swift vengeance. Heartbreaking and complex.

But Deliberately ugly and slow. Kidman's performance is deliberately unglamorous, and the film offers no catharsis or triumph—only survival and small mercies.

Atomic Blonde2017

Charlize Theron as a spy-assassin in 1980s Berlin, delivering long takes of balletic violence. Sleek, propulsive, and committed to letting action sequences breathe. Similar energy to Peppermint's lean efficiency.

But The plot is functional at best, and the film never reaches for emotional depth. It knows what it is, which some find limiting.

Haywire2011

Gina Carano plays a betrayed black-ops agent on the run. Soderbergh's direction emphasizes clarity and physicality; you always know where everyone is and what they're doing. Spare and smart.

But Carano is not a trained actress, and her flatness alienates some viewers. Deliberately low-key pacing won't satisfy those seeking spectacle.

The Old Guard2020

A team of immortal mercenaries fights to protect their secret. Charlize Theron again, but here with a found-family dynamic that adds emotional weight. Kinetic action meets unexpected tenderness.

But Netflix sheen and superhero logic won't appeal if you want grounded realism. The mythology can feel overexplained.

Æon Flux2005

A female assassin in a dystopian future. Stylish and weird, with action sequences that prioritize visual invention over logic. If you like your vengeance with a sci-fi twist and practical stunts.

But The plot is nearly incomprehensible, and the tone whipsaws between campy and serious. Even admirers struggle to defend its narrative coherence.

Colombiana2011

A young woman orphaned by gangsters becomes an assassin. Similar DNA to Peppermint—grief transformed into purpose, a woman no one sees coming. Zoe Saldana carries it with quiet menace.

But Plot is fairly routine, and the emotional core never lands with real weight. Feels more like a slick vehicle than a story with something to say.

Honour2014

Both center on a woman's destruction by powerful men and systems, but where Peppermint offers individual justice, Honour shows that some crimes exist beyond one person's reach or correction. A counterpoint on what vengeance can and cannot do.

A British-Pakistani woman is murdered by her family for refusing an arranged marriage. A documentary-style recounting of real events that clarifies why personal vengeance cannot exist in these systems. Devastating and illuminating.

But Not a thriller. Extremely difficult to watch—factual, clinical, unflinching about suffering with no catharsis.