Directed by Babak Najafi (2018)
by Sandy DeVito

It's a letdown that the rest of Proud Mary doesn't follow the strength of two things in particular: two badass promo posters and really solid opening credits.The credits feature a retro vibe and Papa Was a Rolling Stone by The Temptations (which immediately made me think of The Nice Guys, which also features that song for its opening credits - and I wish this film had more in common with that one, because this has all the ingredients to be great, but never really utilizes any of its pieces), wherein Taraji P. Henson is merely getting dressed. But this is Taraji we're talking about. And watching her get dressed to, clearly, take somebody out, is a joy. None of Proud Mary's shortcomings are on Taraji's shoulders. The main thing is it just never really tries to do anything interesting with its premise - it's competently written, shot, and directed. But competent is not good per se. This is more of a "fine."