Sean Penn's Cat and Mouse Game in The Gunman

Action buffs must set aside March 20 in their diaries as Hollywood star Sean Penn's military thriller The Gunman hits screens on that day.

Directed by Pierre Morel, the film is an adaptation of the 1981 novel The Prone Gunman.

Sean plays a former Special Forces soldier suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who wants to settle down with his longtime lover (played by Jasmine Trinca), but his organisation refuses to let go and he is forced to go on the run from London to Barcelona and across Europe.

The film also features Ray Winstone as Sean's mentor while actors Javier Bardem and Idris Elba play ruthless operatives on the hunt for Sean's character Jim Terrier.

Another dimension to Javier Bardem and Sean Penn's rivalry is provided by their romantic affection for a relief worker (Jasmine Trinca).

The plot reportedly thickens after after Sean finds himself targetted after the assasination of a government minister in Africa and is made a scapegoat and hunted down by his own organisation.