In “Panama,” it is 1989. Viewers are introduced to a former U.S. Marine Becker (played by Cole Hauser) who is mourning the loss of his wife — all while drinking and passing out by her headstone.
CIA operative Stark (played by Mel Gibson) offers him a job. Becker is assigned to go to Panama to acquire a Russian helicopter, which will then be used to assassinate dictator Manuel Noriega. Becker meets his liaison, Enrique Rodríguez (played by Mauricio Hénao), a money launderer.
Is It Any Good?
The secret to any movie is to tell a coherent story or to make the audience care about anything in it. Set in the early 1980s, the undignified “Panama” fails in convincing me of its story.
Instead, this movie offers viewers a rapid-fire feed with a lot of padding, such as various salacious/nude scenes and an utterly gratuitous motorcycle chase through the jungle.
Mark Neveldine, whose best-known work is Crank, is one of several dramas directors. He never has a soothing, relaxing tone, ranging from Brian’s energetic speaker’s rendition of “Let’s put on a show for the Reds, Whites, and Blue” to a robotic vision of a refugee camp filled with war refugees.
This movie is all over the place, making it quite the agonizing experience of sitting through.
Watch It Or Not
The movie is 95-minutes long. Which is 95-minutes TOO LONG for this movie. In other words, it shouldn’t exist.
“Panama” is a hard pass.
Don’t waste your time or spend your money on this movie. There are better movies out right now.
