Panama (2022)

Panama has the scrappy, propulsive appeal of a B-movie thriller that knows exactly how to keep you leaning forward: a bruised ex-Marine dropped into a sun-baked pressure cooker of politics, money, and gunmetal tension as history rumbles in the background. Mark Neveldine brings a jittery, high-octane energy to the action, while Cole Hauser does the real heavy lifting with a grounded, hard-worn performance that makes the danger feel personal instead of generic. And then there’s Mel Gibson, gleefully chewing scenery in a way that’s hard to look away from, turning every conversation into a small power struggle. It’s not for the squeamish or anyone allergic to sleaze—this is firmly R-rated and often rough around the edges—but if you want a gritty, sweaty ride where the backdrop is as volatile as the characters, it delivers.

Panama is trying to be a sweaty, late-’80s throwback thriller about covert arms deals and the ugly reality of political power, with Cole Hauser doing his best as a broken ex-marine and Mel Gibson adding some grizzled menace. The problem is it plays more like a patchwork of action beats and sleaze than a coherent, escalating story, so the pacing lurches and the “big idea” never lands with much clarity. If you’re hoping for smart geopolitical intrigue or clean, satisfying thrills, this will likely feel noisy, cheap, and oddly flat despite the R-rated edge. Still, if your bar is low and you just want a grimy, occasionally punchy B-movie vibe with familiar genre ingredients, you might get some guilty-pleasure mileage out of it.