Where to watch Panama
3 Stars
Inspired by true events. In wild 1989 Panama, James Becker, a rugged, decorated ex-marine, is sent undercover by his former commander Stark to execute a high-value deal with dangerous adversaries he can’t trust. While navigating through the chaos of the local civil war, Becker must fight assassins, court femmes fatales and negotiate with the enemy in order to complete his mission. With Stark always by his side, Becker must persevere against all odds in hopes of making it home alive.
The joy of performance is no longer present in the efforts of direct-to-DVD mainstays Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, and John Cusack. The same isn’t true of Mel Gibson. When the venerable actor appears on-screen in one of these lesser films, he’s so captivating that it serves as a reminder of the presence, charisma, and talent he possesses. Gibson, along with another 1990’s superstar, Nicolas Cage, is one of the rare thespians to carry his unquie appeal into the B-movie world and still maintain his stature.
Without a legacy franchise or superhero series, Mel Gibson now finds himself starring in productions that are a big step down from the studio-backed blockbusters of his era. His OSCAR-winning skills behind the camera produce, roughly, one film per decade. So in the meantime, the former Hollywood A-lister spends his time toiling away on movies that most people won’t see. And that’s unfortunate because Panama is a good time for fans of Gibson and lead actor Cole Hauser. The pair linked up 20 years ago on the stalker thriller titled Paparazzi. That was a junky suspense flick, with Hauser’s character serving as a fictional stand-in for Mel Gibson, who served as producer on the film.
Panama is an action-drama set in the late 1980’s but employs all the latest traits—flashy editing, saturated color palette, and constant title cards—in an effort to tell its complex story. Mark Neveldine brings his patented style of high-energy filmmaking to the project, and it’s an enjoyable experience because of it. While the plot isn’t always as straight-forward as it should be, Hauser’s accompanying a jungle raiding party is unrealistic, and the addition of a love interest doesn’t add anything to the character’s journey or elevate the stakes. It’s the good acting from Hauser, the amped-up energy of the movie-making, and another good appearance from Gibson that turn Panama from an average B-movie into a memorable title in the film cannon of one of the 20th century’s biggest movie stars.
Directed by: Mark Neveldine
Written by: William Barber, Daniel Adams
Starring: Cole Hauser, Mel Gibson, Mauricio Hénao