Henson (Hidden Figures, Empire) stars as Mary, a hitwoman who finds herself caring for Danny (newcomer Jahi Di’Allo Winston), a young boy with a connection to her past, which puts her at odds with her adoptive crime family as her steps to protect the boy threatens to plunge Boston into an all-out gang war. It’s a credit to the writing that Mary’s love life is only relevant to the story insofar as it complicates her ability to achieve her goals. Multiple people ask if she wants to leave the family business because of Tom, a notion she swats away with impatience. Mary is not the kind of woman to let a relationship dictate her choices. Henson and Jahi Di’Allo Winston have great chemistry, which makes their easy rapport and near-instant camaraderie ring true. Unfortunately it’s a bit tough to watch Danny Glover feel a bit like he’s phoning it in, and it doesn’t help that he’s saddled with quite a few clunky lines. The 90-minute runtime should make make the movie fly by, but there are several places where the pace grinds slow enough for the audience (even an enthusiastic one like mine) to check their collective watch. The film is obviously a vehicle for Taraji P. Henson’s career, to show off her versatility while simultaneously playing into so much of what makes her electric on any screen, big or small. She rattles off quite a few one-liners while caring for Danny, walking the fine line between joking and ripshit the way only a mother can. She also delivers some scathing lines to the many men who populate her underworld that seem made for a tribute video, or at least a t-shirt. There are certainly shades of Cookie here – both characters are savvy, talented, and fiercely loyal until you cross them. But Mary is her own character, and a winning one. Speaking of the men of Mary’s world, this movie really only stars one other woman besides Henson, and she appears in a very brief scene with only a couple of lines. It probably technically passes the Bechdel Test (I think Mary wishes her happy birthday?) but it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. One of my few complaints, other than some clunky parts of the script, is that Henson only has a few opportunities to show off her action chops. When she does, though, it’s an absolute blast. Much of the sluggish script feels designed to create a situation in which there is only one way for the story to end well: our hero has to kill everyone. And let’s just say that win, lose, or draw, Mary makes ample use of the small armory she keeps in her walk-in closet. If you’re going to tell a story about a hitwoman, she needs to bring the goods. A couple of highlights are when Mary makes use of her driving gloves from the opening sequence and Tokyo Drifts her car (and then some), and the two separate occasions when she slides across the floor, gun drawn. Beautiful cars (and some Chevys, for some reason) purr and hum throughout, adding to the luxurious feel of Mary’s world. The only thing gritty about this flick is Mary and Danny’s attitudes when someone pisses them off. While it’s not perfect, Proud Mary is a lot of fun during this gloomy January slump. Taraji P. Henson shines, giving Hollywood plenty of reason to seek her out for future shoot ‘em up roles, and hopefully with a better script and budget for publicity. With the number of women-fronted action flicks on their way, I hope we see this side of Henson again soon.