Faster reviewed

Finally, The Rock HAS COME BACK.....to action movies!  Now, I know that isn't a good sign to be excited since I haven't really liked his action movies or his movies in general aside from Gridiron Gang. The Scorpion King was as good as it could be which is to say, not that good.  The Rundown had no pulse and Walking Tall had no balls.  And let's not even get into the horror that was The Game Plan.  But for some reason, I wanted to see this movie since it wasn't for kids and I don't think he starred in a R-rated movie so I was interested in what he was going to do in this one.  So know your roles and shut your mouths as we go layeth the Smackethdown to Faster jabronis.

The Rock plays some guy named...named....IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HIS NAME IS, or for that matter the other two players in this game but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself there.  The Rock was a getaway driver who was set up and watch his brother killed, then he was killed but that just pissed The Rock off.  After ten years, The Rock is going to get revenge against the people who set him up.  Billy Bob Thorton is Cop who's after his trail.  Then there's this other guy, Killer, who's a hit man hired to kill The Rock before he kills everyone.  And of course their paths come together at the end.


I got this to say about Faster, it certainly has a lot of style to spare.  As it's name suggests, it moves incredibly fast, rarely taking a break for anything except for some talking.  The movie is filled with cold lighting and even when there is sunshine to be found, it's still incredibly harsh.  And the action here is incredibly brutal with it being over as soon as it begins.  This is not a movie to see a whole lot of extended action sequences even though there are a couple of them.  But for the most part, this movie is efficiently shot with a style that makes this an intense ride until the last 20 minutes in which it somewhats sputters out.

As for everyone involved, The Rock is a man of very few words, two expressions and a whole lot of bullets.  For the most part that's fine since he is...err was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment and he always had a boatload of charisma even at his worst.  But when The Rock isn't growling lines or killing people, he has to act and it's not really good. There's no passion or emotion in his voice when he has to soft like in the flashbacks and he should have just channeled The Terminator for all of the movie.  Billy Bob Thornton flat outs sleepwalks through his role infusing no life, energy or passion despite a few isolated moments here and there.  The other guy who plays Killer, despite being a completely and utterly superfluous character, is actually pretty good with an easy-going English accent and a lot of charisma making him fun to watch even if he does have nothing to do.

Now if I haven't convinced you(and I doubt I had) that this movie is good, then find a DVD of your favorite movie, shine that real nice, turn it sideways and STICK IT STRAIGHT UP YOUR ROOTIE-POO CANDY ASS!  Despite some stumbles, a weak Billy Bob and a weaker ending this movie is a nice, effective thriller.  There's an air of brutality to this that makes it a bit hard to watch which fits in with the rest of the story and it is very effectively directed.  If you're in the mood for a hard-hitting revenge movie then you could do a lot worse than Faster...besides, I don't want take you down Know Your Role Boulevard which is on the corner of Jabroni Drive and check you directly into the Smackdown Hotel, do I?

7/10