Faster

To start of, this movie is not groundbreaking and I doubt it is going to claim to be. It's a simple revenge thriller with a few plot twists. That's why I did not give it a full score.

But those things aside, this movie was quite fun to watch. Loved how Dwayne Johnson finally decided to get back to his action roles after the lame kid movies he had starred in lately. His screen presence was awesome, and kinda reminded me of the good old times while he was wrestling.

The music and the setting were awesome, it really did remind me of the 70's revenge thrillers. The entire movie was like an ode to the old dark and moody revenge movies just as Kill Bill was. I believe they got the setting and tone of the movie quite right, and the music itself was awesome. Nothing flashy just melancholy sounding from beginning to end.

The action scenes were quite good since Dwaynes character (The Driver) just oozed of cold blooded anger and hatred. Making the showdowns quite interesting and funny at one point as well. The other characters were entertaining as well, The Killer and The Cop. Each had their own story going on until they get intertwined with each other as the movie progresses.

Overall I loved the movie and I feel anyone who is wanting to check out a action flick this weekend should definitely check this movie out. It will be worth the money spent if you are looking to be entertained.

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. ***

It's the Rock's performance that makes this movie watchable. Otherwise it's a standard revenge driven action move that doesn't add anything to the genre. Also, I usually have issue when movie characters are underdeveloped, but in this case the assassin and his girlfriend were way too overdeveloped and I just didn't need to know that much about his character - not only did it not add anything to the story, it actually detracted from it.

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.

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.