Sony and Screen Gems have released the first trailer for their upcoming action-thriller, Proud Mary. The films stars Taraji P. Henson as a mob assassin who turns on her former employers. It is directed by Babak Najaji (London Has Fallen) and has a nice supporting cast that includes Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Neal McDonough (Captain America: The First Avenger), and Billy Brown (“How to Get Away with Murder”).
An assassin (Henson) for the Boston mob turns protector after she comes across a boy who awakens maternal instincts that she didn’t know she had.
What we have here is a modern throwback to blaxploitation-style actioners, filtered throw influences such as John Cassavetes’ Gloria and Luc Besson’s Leon: The Professional. Furthermore, we’re getting Taraji P. Henson playing the kind of role that Pam Grier (Foxy Brown, Coffy) would have had 40 years ago. Throw in the nice supporting cast and I’m sold. The old school poster below only furthers my interest.
I like what I’m seeing here and I’m glad that a film like this is being given a wide release. Theaters could use smaller action fare like this again on a more regular basis and the fact that it comes with a non-white female protagonist makes it all the better. Henson handled herself nicely as a kill-crazy sniper in Joe Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces and we know she can act the pants off of most, so this looks like a match made in heaven.
Proud Mary is an original action-thriller from Screen Gems. It is directed by Babak Najafi, from a screenplay by Steven Antin, John Stuart Newman, and Christian Swegal. The picture is produced by Tai Duncan, Paul Schiff, Taraji P. Henson, Glenn S. Cainor, and Andrea Ajemian. The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Neal McDonough, Danny Glover, Xander Berkeley, Billy Brown, Margaret Avery, and Jahi Di’Allo Winston.
Proud Mary arrives in theaters on January 12th, 2018.
