Even though he may never be welcomed back into the open arms of the Hollywood elite, Mel Gibson continues to gather a reputation as one of the most prolific actors in the business, with the two-time Academy Award winner racking up credits at a rate not dissimilar to fellow 1990s A-list icons Bruce Willis and Nicolas Cage.
In fact, the first image has been revealed from Gibson’s next outing, and there’s a hint of irony in the film being called Desperation Road, which many have labeled the path his career has been traveling down for the last decade and change. Back on grizzled father duties, the Lethal Weapon star plays the father of Garrett Hedlund’s ex-con, but it isn’t long before the pair end up on the run.
If you can believe it, Desperation Road will be Gibson’s 14th action thriller since the beginning of 2020, and that’s not even including outliers like biographical drama Father Stu, whimsical adventure Boys of Summer, John Wick prequel series The Continental, or the long-gestating sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
He won’t be getting his name slapped on the poster of a big budget blockbuster any time soon, but the 67 year-old keeps lining ’em up and knocking ’em down, with the quantity over quality approach having been his methodology for a while now. Maybe Desperation Road will win plenty of critical acclaim, although it’s just as likely it’ll come and go to be forgotten as quickly as Agent Game, Panama, Force of Nature, On the Line, and many more.
