Faster

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

A former bank robber (Dwayne Johnson) is released after serving a lengthy prison sentence, with only one thing on his mind- cold, brutal revenge on all those who were involved in his brother's murder all those years ago. But as he goes about his deadly mission, he finds himself on a personal, emotional inner battle as he considers the possibility of redemption and forgiveness.

There's nothing unusual about an ex wrestler trying to eke out a post wrestling career by appearing in low budget, straight to DVD action films or maybe the odd supporting role in a big screen action thriller. And everyone would have had every reason to write off Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as one such example from the off set. But here we have an ex grappler who appears to have gone above and beyond and made an impression on critics and cinema goers alike that not many others have. He's considered to have a charisma and charm that makes him a natural 'actor' and not just another ex fighter pretending to be a real such thing. While I don't necessarily agree with all this appraisal, I can't deny what I see, which is just such. And while Faster has gone straight to DVD, there is undoubtedly an air and atmosphere to it that isn't apparent in your average such film.

There is a clever, high concept element to it in the way all the characters aren't given proper names, but simply descriptions of them, i.e. 'Driver' or 'Receptionist', as we could know their real names, but we might have to be killed if we did. But Faster is aiming to be more than your average DVD action film in more ways than this. It is a cold, brutal story of a man on a mission of honour and sworn vengeance that he can't switch off, and it plays out in this hard, unforgiving way, before the power of redemption and forgiveness dawn on him and he is forced to search his own soul and make sacrifices of himself before he crosses the line and loses any sense of moral authority.

While the end impression doesn't leave the powerful impact it quite could have, this is an undeniably ambitious and surprising action thriller that delivers a lot more than it promises. ***

I was surprised by this somewhat. I expected a brainless revenge thriller. What I got was a nicely crafted caper, a throwback, a homage, to several genre films.

The storytelling was straight to the point, almost linear. A vengeful juggernaut-The Rock-gets out of jail and seeks revenge for his murdered brother. He's as focused as a laser missile. An eclectic cast of characters are in his way. A strung-out cop out for redemption (Billy Bob Thornton), a neurotic hit-man and various unsavory people.

I thought this was nice nod to 70s style vengeance driven movies and somewhat reminiscent of Richard Stark/Donald Westlake's PARKER character (seen, in its most recent incarnation in PAYBACK, starring MEL Gibson: one man seeking revenge against fellow criminals). A man focused on his mission. The Rock is a cold-blood murder machine. Nothing heroic or even sympathetic about this guy, which makes him fascinating to watch as he runs down his list.

This movie doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it is a nice cure for the sugar coated holiday releases flooding our cinemas. A nice balance of violence, solid acting and some great music provided by THE HEAVY.

I expected the kind of "Fast and Furious" brainless action movie, but it's actually an enjoyable thriller with a certain degree of wit. Definitely better than expected.

(Synopsis) After serving 10 years in prison for bank robbery, Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has only one mission in life, to avenge the murder of his older brother who was killed when they were double-crossed after the heist. Now a free man with the names and addresses in hand, there is nothing on earth that can stop him from killing all of them. However, two people are in the hunt to stop him, veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) only days from retiring, and a young hit man (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), both on Driver's trail. The race is on, and there can be only one winner.

(My Comment) The story is simple and straight to the point, Driver wants revenge. Driver gets out of prison after 10 years, and he starts hunting down the criminals who were responsible for killing his brother. However, things get complicated when a hit man comes after him. Not only does he have to avoid the cops, but now he is also a target. Physically, the Rock is imposing in this film, but he only speaks about 2 dozen words in the whole movie. The Rock does not have much dialog, but his tough mannerisms and cold blooded killer facial expressions are enough. Billy Bob Thornton's performance as the sleazy cop is excellent. If you want to see an action packed revenge flick, this is a good one to see. (CBS Films, Run Time 1:35, Rated R)(8/10)

FASTER sees Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson returning to the fold of action cinema after wasting his time in dumb comedies and kiddie movies. This is a straightforward revenge saga about a man betrayed by a criminal gang who finally leaves prison and sets out on a path of vengeance. None of it is remotely surprising, but the story is handled with a certain amount of finesse and there's nary a dull moment along the way.

I've been a fan of The Rock since his days in THE MUMMY RETURNS and he acquits himself well with the material here, playing basically a brooding character who isn't much given to humour or dialogue. Supporting him is a typically kooky Billy Bob Thornton as a drug-addicted cop and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (WORLD WITHOUT END) as a dedicated hit-man. More briefly-seen cast members include Tom Berenger, Moon Bloodgood and Jennifer Carpenter, all of whom do well with the brief screen time they're allowed. Watch out for the opening song, a nice little shout out to the 1970s polizia sub-genre.

The problem with FASTER is that the material is rather light and there's not enough of it to fill out the running time; as a result, we get a lengthy and uninteresting sub-plot about the British hit-man and his relationship with TAKEN actress Maggie Grace. Jackson-Cohen is miscast and in any case the character is a waste of time who drags down the enjoyment factor whenever he appears. I had no idea what he was doing here but this sub-plot alone is enough to knock a couple of stars off the rating. Other than that, FASTER is enjoyable enough and has plenty of twists and action to keep you watching if not entirely satisfied.