Faster
Dir: George Tillman Jr.
2010
*
Apart from the fact that it was nice to see Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in somewhat of a bad-guy role, there isn't much about George Tillman Jr's crime action film I can recommend. The direction is slick and some of the car chases are good but the violence is overused and becomes ineffective. Everything about the film is monotonous, whether we're following Johnson's revenge rampage, Billy Bob Thornton's cartoonish detective stereotype or Oliver Jackson-Cohen's pointless and puzzling hit-man, nothing new is revealed and I cared less and less about the story's outcome. I saw the twist coming a mile off. Johnson doesn't so much act as he does stomp around, he's far more graceful when standing still. Billy Bob Thornton seems to have dried up, in both career and complexion and I'd never heard of Oliver Jackson-Cohen before watching the film and I have no desire to watch anything he does in the future, although I doubt the phone is ringing much after this woeful performance. The casting is bad all round really, there are some talented actors involved who deserve better but work is work. A forgettable film, at least I hope so.