“Peppermint” is the type of film that will appease its target audience and exactly the kind of action film you would expect from the director of “Taken” (Pierre Morel) and the writer of “London Has Fallen” (Chad St. John).

That isn’t exactly a good thing though.

Even by vigilante film standards, this is a film with a really nasty streak that ultimately left me cold. Sure it’s kinda fun to see Jennifer Garner take down an entire drug cartel, but there are only so many times you can see a bullet shot to the head before it gets to be tiresome. “Peppermint” hits that limit rather early.

The set-up is pretty silly – Garner is Riley North, a normal mom whose life is turned upside down when he husband (Jeff Hephner) and daughter (Cailey Fleming) are gunned down by the drug cartel. The family was targeted after Riley’s husband was approached about stealing money from the head of the cartel (he changed his mind and refused, but that didn’t matter).

The men responsible for the shooting are captured and face a trial, but – thanks to corrupt cops and a crooked judge – the charges are dismissed. Shattered by this turn of events Riley goes into hiding for five years, returning to seek revenge on every person responsible for the deaths of her husband and daughter.

This transformation allows Garner to channel her “Alias” days. For a while it is fun to watch as the body count mounts and a stone-faced Garner exacts her revenge. But St. John’s script has several things working against it. First, the transformation from soccer mom to assassin mostly happens during the five year gap in the story, missing out on a chance to give the story some much needed depth and substance. And then there are the bad guys, including the dirty cops, who turn out to be every cliche imaginable. These guys aren’t really that interesting, so when Riley gets her revenge the stakes aren’t as high as they should be.

Morel tries to account for the lack of substance with way too much style. A shaky camera movement used early on gets old about the 100th time it happens and there are only so many ways you can film someone taking a bullet to the head (believe me Morel tries hard to disprove this theory).

By the time “Peppermint” builds to its inevitable conclusion it’s easy to realize that nothing much has really happened – save for a lot of bloodshed. That’s not a bad thing for people looking for a bit of goofy escapism, but for those who like a little substance to their bloodshed this film is about as satisfying as a peppermint candy.

Starring: Jennifer Garner, John Ortiz

Directed by:Pierre Morel

Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout

Playing at: Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)

Grade: C-