‘PROUD MARY’ sends an electric jolt through our veins

Taraji P. Henson stars in PROUD MARY. Courtesy of Screen Gems.

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

There are very few trailers out there that instantly grab our attention the way PROUD MARY does. Maybe it’s the way the titular Tina Turner songs is utilized. Maybe it’s the exciting visuals that accompany the building momentum of that song. Maybe it’s in star Taraji P. Henson’s magnetism. It’s probably ALL of these things. It’s clear that Director Babak Najafi (LONDON HAS FALLEN) has crafted 70’s throwback cinema that sends an electric current straight through our veins. Feeling like a John Cassavetes film (GLORIA, specifically) married a Pam Grier film (any of them) and was shot through a JOHN WICK-esque lens, PROUD MARY proves we’re ready for another kick-ass hero on the silver screen.

In the action-thriller, Henson plays a hit woman employed by a Boston-based organized crime family. Her life experiences a complete 180 when she encounters a young boy (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) after a professional hit goes awry. Danny Glover and Billy Brown also star.

Take a look – and be prepared to be blown away.

Pretty remarkable, right?! It makes me confident that the finalized story will resonate beyond this well-cut trailer.

PROUD MARY is written by John Stuart Newman (DAYS OF OUR LIVES), Christian Swegal (shorts SOLAR and STASIS) and – fun fact time! – Steve Antin, who played “Troy” in GOONIES, and directed and wrote BURLESQUE.

My body is ready.

January 12, 2018, PROUD MARY’s release date, can NOT get here fast enough.

Courtney Howard

Courtney Howard is a LAFCA, CCA, OFCS and AWFJ member, as well as a Rotten Tomatometer-approved film critic. Her work has been published on Variety, She Knows and Awards Circuit.