Movie Review: Faster (2010)
Just a terrible movie
Photo: CBS Films
Wow! Oh wow! Faster is one terrible, pointless and worthless movie. It is a wonder CBS Films would want to distribute this junk, and why Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino would agree to star in it. Okay, Johnson did it because he didn't want to entirely abandon those action roots he was supposed to fill when everyone thought he would be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, but still, there is nothing this movie has to offer an audience outside of senseless violence and a redemption story that doesn't add up.
The cast includes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Moon Bloodgood, Carla Gugino, Tom Berenger, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agabaje and Jennifer Carpenter. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Faster" is a CBS Films release, directed by George Tillman Jr. and is rated R for strong violence, some drug use and language. The running time is 1 hour 35 minutes.
Dwayne Johnson plays Driver (an adjective, not a name) whom has just been released from a ten year prison stint following a short sit down with Tom Berenger who may as well have been playing himself rather than a prison warden for as much sense as this film makes. Driver then runs (seriously, he actually runs) to a local automobile graveyard where his '71 Chevelle SS, gun and hit list are waiting for him. He pops over to a local bank, walks in, shoots a guy in the head and the killing spree begins, but not before…
We're introduced to Billy Bob Thornton's character, referred to on screen as Cop. I get a chuckle out of this trend Tillman is setting, thinking we're in for a gritty throwback in which character names aren't as important as the mindless bloodshed. (It's all in the name of entertainment right?) In fact that's half-true as the bloodshed is mindless and I believe it's supposed to be entertaining, but the mindless entertainment factor begins to seep out when you give the lead cop a drug problem, a kid that's just looking for a father and an informant turned ex-wife (Moon Bloodgood) at home chastising him. On the other side of the coin, Driver is avenging the murder of his criminal brother, which means none of these people we're talking about have many redeeming qualities. It leaves little to cheer for.
Worst of all is the character known only as Killer played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who's best described as a poor man's Jonathan Rhys Meyers and that's not saying much. Killer is a hitman who has been hired to take out Driver once it's learned where Driver's killing spree is heading. This alone isn't a problem. It actually makes sense. But when you add Killer's girlfriend, a.k.a. soon-to-be-fiancé, a.k.a. soon-to-be-wife (Maggie Grace) to the mix things really get muddled. You see, she's a girl that enjoys doing a little skeet shooting with a glock on the couple's honeymoon and he's got some serious psychological issues. The hipster acronym "TMI" comes to mind as Tillman has now put too many eggs in one basket.
Tillman and his screenwriters mix the playful with the overly serious and it takes all the fun out of the feature. There's a line to violent revenge tales and you need to decide which side of it you are going to walk on. Do you want to go down the path of darkness, offer up your lead as an anti-hero for the audience to revel in his villainy as he takes out people just as evil if not more so than he? Or do you want to walk the light side where the blood sprays like geysers, splattering the camera with so much gore any and all level of humanity is removed allowing you to have fun with the bloodshed? Faster walks the dark path in its narrative with tangents to the light and the two don't play well together.
To discuss the acting would be a waste of time, though I will give everyone involved kudos for having the nerve to even repeat some of these lines. Billy Bob Thornton must say, "What've we got?" at least five times and Gugino plays the "What is this 'we' shit?" card more than once. The back-and-forth is pathetic and transparent, but again, if the film had chosen a side perhaps it would've played much better.
Do not go see Faster. Save your money. If you're a fan of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson you don't need to support this garbage just as much as you don't need to go see him in The Tooth Fairy. Let's urge him back to the fun stuff such as The Rundown, where the gauntlet from Arnold to Dwayne was supposedly passed. Schwarzenegger lived up to his end of the deal and turned his back on movies, when will The Rock step up and become the action star we all thought he would be?
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I'm sorry Brad, I'm still going to watch it. Even though I often agree with you. Even though you told me to stay away from Ninja Assassin which came out this time last year (that movie was awful by the way). Because I've liked Rock in his action roles (Doom notwithstanding) and it just looks and feels like a slick, dumb action movie which is what I need after working on 3 papers and a final.
I agree with you on what it looks like it will be, unfortunately that's not what it ended up being. Lemme know what you end up thinking though.
I'm going to see this movie today. It wasn't important to support Dwayne Johnson in The Tooth Fairy because he already makes plenty of Family Films. The point of supporting him in Faster is to help him stay relevant in action movies. So, for me, the craftmenship of the movie is a little besides the point. The Rock won't get the chance to "step up and become the action star we all thought he would be" unless we support him. I'm sure there will be something good to take away from the movie.
exactly my thoughts, this should serve as rock's tune up movie and a return from disney movies, he definitely has the potential to be the action hero we all thought he would become.
i am tired of watching pansies like ryan reynolds, whats his face the new cap america ? the aussie from avatar trying to sound american and failing 100% of the time, and christian bale, i miss the days of arnold, where the action hero looked the part, and action movies has their stamp on the industry, these days even shia la douche can pass as an action hero.
i am going to watch this in cinema even if its bad, coz i want both rock and vin diesel to get a 2nd chance at making good action movies for all.
Jason Statham kicks ass though.
Your review actually makes me want to see it a bit more… Haha… Sounds a bit like Running Scared (the paul walker one), which I quite enjoyed. I know it's not going to be pretty, but that's alright – I'll get a kick out of it me thinks.
Running Scared is actually good, that would be the major difference between the two. Be sure to come back and let me know what you think though.
This movie made me blow chunks. But my love for Dwayne Johnson does not diminish, i think he will deliver in future features.
Brad you Kick Ass.
You don't go into these movies expecting Romeo and Juliet or Citizen Kane. This is basically a dumb action movie and nothing more. So excuse me if I fall into the vast minority that will watch this schlock. I love the Rock and aside from Stay Cool and the Tooth Fairy, I thought he was going to be the next Arnold. What's wrong with that? At least he's not Bruce Willis who tries to make every movie expecting an oscar and ends up with the raspberry award.
ROmeo and Juliet is crap. Its a crappy play and its a crappy movie. The only reason it has prestige is because its a "classic". At the time, it was the best thing since sex, but today, when people write, they try to avoid ridiculous plot devices and crappy dialogue like Romeo and Juliet's.
I'll say the same about Hamlet which I re-read the other day. He spends most of the play talking to himself in philosophical monologues. Just like all of Shakespeare's plays, everyone is a freaking philosopher. They don't speak like normal people do and that takes away any realism from his plays.
Anyway, if Romeo and Juliet was written TODAY, people would crap on it.
You're obviously twelve years old. Now cut the computer off and go back to your play station.
@G.Clem, is there really a need to be insulting instead of addressing or ignoring Feedback's point?
@Feedback, Other people agree with you about the need to adapt Shakespeare to a modern audience, so there have been many film adaptations based on his works. Like the play, Kiss Me Kate, or the films 10 Things I Hate about You, The Forbidden Planet, She's The Man, Ran, etc. Of course, The Tempest, with Helen Mirren, comes out soon.
I am almost in tears reading all comments here that are full of support for dwayne 'the rock' johnson. i know this is vain, but i believe he is a nice guy and he deserves more action roles that will uphold his credibility as an action star.
the rock rocks!
I attended the Premiere of "Faster" Monday night in Hollywood. I agree with Brad's review but need to add something that could make seeing the film for some people worthwhile.
If you are into cars and action driving scenes then go see "Faster." Excellent all around with the Chevelle becoming the second leading character behind Dwayne Johnson.
I usually don't agree with Brad on actioners but this thing sucks big time, kind of reminds me of stallone's cobra but with less dialogue from the protagonist, his dialogue for the whole movie fits on one sheet of paper
@Brad, You asked for an opinion of Faster. If you go in expecting to check your brain at the door for a popcorn film, you will be disappointed. Keeping an open mind might lead you to compare the themes of this film to the similar "No Country For Old Men". Except "Faster" deals with fate from a more traditional American viewpoint: that one can interrupt fate, and change destiny at any given time by changing yourself, whereas, in NCFOM, fate was as difficult to change as changing yourself. The difference in emphasis makes "Faster" a more hopeful film.
You are certainly not alone in liking unpredictability in your films, but that is as personal a choice as liking predictability in your dinner. Or do you hate it when you get meatloaf, again :) The ancient Greek playwrites valued a certain sense of predicability in their work, so I don't think being able to see where the movie is going, in terms of plot, is a valid criticism. Though it's certainly valid to point that fact out to your readers. I suggest your readers focus on the philosophy behind the choices made in the movie.
As you wrote in your review of NCFOM, "…Let’s start saying “yes” to films that don’t present easy answers, that do make you think, that don’t feature giant stars. Perhaps movies, as well as being entertaining, can also provide us something to think about." I felt "Faster accomplished this. I would give it a grade of B.
P.S. In the last scene of NCFOM, choices already made set in motion being inescabably, fatefully blindsided by another car. In "Faster" the last scene reinforces that fate is in our hands. If you want to be surprised and to see good and gritty acting, see NCFOM, but Faster is a more hopeful film.
Isn't Courtney Gains (the redheaded guy from Children of the Corn) in this movie?
Terrible movie, I couldn't wait for it to end. The love plot was so absolutely idiotic it made me tear up with anger when I thought about $10 wasted on the movie ticket.
Hell, yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! FASTER rocked! What are these critics thinking? Sometimes they just miss the damn boat and this was no exception. I was reminded of last year's ORPHAN in that a B-movie with ambition and artistry was attacked for being both cookie-cutter and overambitious for reasons that totally elude me.
As much as this is an action movie, it is a way over-the-top melodrama about things like fate, revenge, justice, and a host of other things we talk about when we read the Old Testament. It's nasty, ugly, dirty, and that's just how it's supposed to be. Want your acting low-key and subtle? Pop in the DVD of LOST INTRANSLATION again. We're in melodrama territory, and this is how it's done.
One thing that really baffles me about the reviews is that they seem to complain about the movie developing its characters (even though it goes out of its way to not tell us the names of its three leads). This is a film that lets us get to know a fair amount about the three main characters, so that different people in the audience will probably come out of the movie with a different opinion as to who was the hero.
Now, would this plot work in real life. No, of course not. If an APB were put out on a man as distictive-looking as the Rock in a car as distictive as the one he has in this picture in a town the size of Bakersfield, the only way they could make a 90 minute movie would be to shoot it in real time. The stories of Job, Jonah, and Adam and Eve don't really stand up to scrutiny, either. This is an Old Testament morality tale set in modern day, and it totally gets the job done.
Dwayne and Billy Bob have both been away from what they need to be doing. It's nice to have them back.