Director: Gary Fleder
Writers: Sylvester Stallone (screenplay), Chuck Logan (based on the novel by)
Stars: Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder
A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord.
Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes
IMDB Score: 6.5
Why I watched it: Jason Statham, I don’t know why but I watch all his movies.
Random thoughts: This film was notable for the fact that Sylvester Stallone wrote it but didn’t direct or star in it, word is he gave it to Jason Statham. This is a very random cast, one would even say weird.
What I liked: I’ll admit one of the things I really liked was the random casting see actors in different roles, Winona Ryder was a druggie, girlfriend bad role, Kate Bosworth as white trash, James Franco as a drug dealer. The film works I think cause it’s a bit different, sure it’s an action movie, where a former cop has to do battle with an evil drug lord who’s kidnapped his kid but it plays moodier and slower than most action films.
Statham is good here, you should never forget that he’s a good actor not just a good action guy. This role is cliched but he brings his charm and physicality with him. Always nice to see Clancy Brown, and Franco is good as the bad guy. What I like about Franco he’s bad but he’s not twirl his mustache bad, when he brings in a higher force, or more evil you can tell he knows he’s over his head. What I like about this film is that the main bad guy doesn’t really go looking for trouble but once it’s set in motion he tries to profit from it.
What I didn’t like: The film feels a bit choppy, he does feel like it was going to be longer, some sub plots and side characters get lost in the shuffle. The very end is a tad silly. My biggest beef is that the energy level was kind of low for this type of movie, it seems a bit at odds with itself, it wasn’t sure if it wanted to be an action thriller, or a drama character story with some action elements.
Final verdict: I’m seen a lot of Jason Statham films that were just plain bad and not very well thought out but this was a decent film, a good watch.
Movie Burner Entertainment 