By: Dove
—
Faster is the latest Dwayne Johnson action flick, promising a lot of gunplay, fist fighting and of course, fast cars. With co-stars like Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Tom Berenger, Mike Epps and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, this revenge story can’t take a wrong turn… right? Unfortunately for this amazing cast, The Rock’s most stellar moments in Faster can be pretty much summarized in the red band trailer below.
The Faster story revolves around Johnson’s character “The Driver” getting out of prison after a 10-year bid (which is alluded to as a seriously rough decade), and setting out on a mission to avenge his brother’s (The Unit‘s Matt Gerald) death. Easy enough, right?
The main problem with Faster is that it seems to want to be deep and mysterious, but there is nothing mind-bending about The Driver character, good or bad. There is one moment in the film where he breaks down in tears as family secrets are revealed, and another during an emotional plea from a target, but for the most part, The Driver is nothing more than, well… a rock.
Billy Bob Thornton as The Cop, a drug-addicted lame just trying to get through his last two weeks on the force, should be interesting, but there’s just not enough to his story to make the viewer really care about his problems. Tom Berenger serves as nothing more than an “oh wow that’s Tom Berenger” in his role, Mike Epps isn’t utilized for any of his talent, and Lost‘s Maggie Grace is just that as a gun-toting cookie-cutter girlfriend. I don’t blame the actors though, as the story and script are what ultimately slow this movie down.
There are some bright spots in Faster, like striking newcomer Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the over-achieving playboy assassin. He is as intense and brilliant as he can be in the boundaries of the plot, and the character would be worthy of his own movie. Carla Gugino (Entourage, Watchmen) plays the decent serious officer in opposition to Thornton’s messy cop, but even her lines fall short. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Oz, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) also shows off some range as the con-turned-preacher.
Although I don’t expect to walk into any action film to feel more than the thrill of the kill, most of this left me feeling as blank as The Driver’s facial expression. I understand he’s a torn man, but he’s not supposed to be The Terminator. When the character does show any real emotion, it’s too little too late.
If you like loud stunt driving, straight-to-the-point revenge killing and looking at Dwayne Johnson‘s incredible physique, then you might want to get to the theater on November 24 for Faster. Personally, I wasn’t thrilled by the poorly executed twists and turns, and Faster just left skidmarks on two hours of my life.
Watch the bloody red band trailer for Faster
