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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Spider-Man (2002) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
The first major blockbuster Spider-Man movie hasn't aged particularly well, but it's overflowing with charm and a great cast.
Watching this as an adult is still as much fun as it was back in 2002 (when I was a fresh faced 13 year old). Tobey Maguire, Willem Defoe, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons - all of them are really well cast and bring their comic book counterparts to life in a way that captured the imaginations of comic fans everywhere, all backed up by a fantastic score by Danny Elfman.
It's faults are few, but mainly in line with the first X-Men film - it's just doesn't quite stand up compared to comic films today and suffers from sub standard CGI and an early 2000s time stamp - I must say though - I have a special kind of love for the borderline Power Rangers villain costume that Green Goblin gets to wear...
Spider-Man is an important milestone in bringing comic books to the big screen, and will surely be enjoyed for years to come.
Watching this as an adult is still as much fun as it was back in 2002 (when I was a fresh faced 13 year old). Tobey Maguire, Willem Defoe, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons - all of them are really well cast and bring their comic book counterparts to life in a way that captured the imaginations of comic fans everywhere, all backed up by a fantastic score by Danny Elfman.
It's faults are few, but mainly in line with the first X-Men film - it's just doesn't quite stand up compared to comic films today and suffers from sub standard CGI and an early 2000s time stamp - I must say though - I have a special kind of love for the borderline Power Rangers villain costume that Green Goblin gets to wear...
Spider-Man is an important milestone in bringing comic books to the big screen, and will surely be enjoyed for years to come.
The News Quiz: Eight Episodes of the Topical BBC Radio 4 Panel Game: Series 88
Jeremy Hardy, Full Cast, C. Bb and Miles Jupp
Book
In his first series, Miles Jupp is in the chair for eight episodes of BBC Radio 4's ever-popular...
Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated Yesterday (2019) in Movies
Jul 6, 2019
Charming (2 more)
Cinematography
Hamish Patel and Lily James
Script (3 more)
Lack of Premise Progression
Stale Use of Songs
Overshadowed, Bland Romance
A Beatle Bummer
In a ambitious musical fantasy shows Jack, played by Hamish Patel as a struggling musician looking to find a break in his career. With the help of his manager Ellie, played by Lily James, believes in his dream to stick by his side throughout the struggles. Jack gets hit by the bus and the world seems to have forgotten one of the most popular bands of all time: The Beatles. And now only Jack knows and tries to revive their catalogue for the world to hear again.
It is a pretty charming film throughout, and it really had a lot of strong performances to carry it's premise. Hamish Patel and Lily James have good chemistry, and there is a sense of history between them, as they have been good friends all of their lives, but never tried to put themselves in the next step. Lily James is the one who tries to pursue into that more, while Hamish is focused on himself and the music. Truthfully, there isn't a whole lot of depth besides that history. We are relied on this to carry the romance which is a huge factor of the movie. So much that it distracts everything else and both characters act irrational instead of acting like normal human beings and having a conversation.
It's a sharp film to look at. The lighting, production design, cinematography is wonderful. It has the Danny Boyle stamp on there, especially an obvious slanted shot in the beginning of the film. Even the score has trinkets of The Beatles layered throughout.
The script needed rewrites...there are many ways that this premise could've been successful, but after the film was over, it proved me wrong...this premise is troubling in many ways. There isn't a good way to progress this kind of story and I wanted the film to pursue the story from a fantasy perspective. Especially with something like Rocketman where the songs become part of its whole story. Every Beatles song after another sound so trite and it's because they lack the flavor of what they are genuinely about. It rushes through each one and uses a LOT of songs that it becomes a headache after a while. I think Hamish has a great voice for it, but I couldn't stand how the songs were treated throughout this movie. Especially with it's terrible third act where it becomes a huge, convenient mess for everyone. The script was simply bad.
I would wait for it if interested. Seeing it in a theater might give an impression for its great filmmaking, but a very hollow experience in my opinion.
It is a pretty charming film throughout, and it really had a lot of strong performances to carry it's premise. Hamish Patel and Lily James have good chemistry, and there is a sense of history between them, as they have been good friends all of their lives, but never tried to put themselves in the next step. Lily James is the one who tries to pursue into that more, while Hamish is focused on himself and the music. Truthfully, there isn't a whole lot of depth besides that history. We are relied on this to carry the romance which is a huge factor of the movie. So much that it distracts everything else and both characters act irrational instead of acting like normal human beings and having a conversation.
It's a sharp film to look at. The lighting, production design, cinematography is wonderful. It has the Danny Boyle stamp on there, especially an obvious slanted shot in the beginning of the film. Even the score has trinkets of The Beatles layered throughout.
The script needed rewrites...there are many ways that this premise could've been successful, but after the film was over, it proved me wrong...this premise is troubling in many ways. There isn't a good way to progress this kind of story and I wanted the film to pursue the story from a fantasy perspective. Especially with something like Rocketman where the songs become part of its whole story. Every Beatles song after another sound so trite and it's because they lack the flavor of what they are genuinely about. It rushes through each one and uses a LOT of songs that it becomes a headache after a while. I think Hamish has a great voice for it, but I couldn't stand how the songs were treated throughout this movie. Especially with it's terrible third act where it becomes a huge, convenient mess for everyone. The script was simply bad.
I would wait for it if interested. Seeing it in a theater might give an impression for its great filmmaking, but a very hollow experience in my opinion.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated 127 Hours (2010) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
Probably the best that it could have been...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Danny Boyle is a director with an eye for the modern. visceral styles, sharp editing and the belief that the combination of both will draw the audience into the action, emotion and mood of the situation at hand. There's no doubt that the stunning true story of adventurer Aron Ralston's accident resulting in his right arm becoming trapped under a rock in the middle of nowhere, required a special director and a style as described above.
Did he pull it off? It's a though sell, 90 minutes of a man and rock but I think it was done about as well as it could have been. The story is interesting and told with a sense of humour and a philosophical attitude appropriate for the subject matter, but it all boils down to the moment when he performs his DIY surgery, a plot point that may well sell the film to most people, as it sold news papers back in 2003.
Overall, well told, very well acted by James Franco as Ralston and along with Boyle's signature direction and jukebox soundtrack, whilst not blowing my skirt up, it made my wife cry, myself cringe and was as well conveyed as this story of a man trapped quite literally between as rock and hard place, ever could have been.
Did he pull it off? It's a though sell, 90 minutes of a man and rock but I think it was done about as well as it could have been. The story is interesting and told with a sense of humour and a philosophical attitude appropriate for the subject matter, but it all boils down to the moment when he performs his DIY surgery, a plot point that may well sell the film to most people, as it sold news papers back in 2003.
Overall, well told, very well acted by James Franco as Ralston and along with Boyle's signature direction and jukebox soundtrack, whilst not blowing my skirt up, it made my wife cry, myself cringe and was as well conveyed as this story of a man trapped quite literally between as rock and hard place, ever could have been.
JT (287 KP) rated Trance (2013) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
"Amnesia is bollocks.” That’s the thought of one of four crooks tasked with trying to discover the whereabouts of a Goya painting worth £25,000,000 from the memory of James McAvoy‘s character Simon.
Simon, an art auctioneer has a problem, well he has a few in Danny Boyle’s latest mind bending heist thriller, Trance. He’s addicted to gambling and in return for wiping his debts clear he agrees to help steel the Goya painting from an auction house for Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his criminal entourage.
In an aggressive and highly charged opening sequence, which sees Simon describe various methods in which paintings have been stolen before from the smash and grab of the old school era to the more high tech, the heist is well under way.
Simon is in the thick of the action as Franck and his accomplices take charge, and as Franck is making off with the painting he’s challenged by Simon who receives a knock to the head rendering his memory practically useless.
After staggering about through all the chaos he ends up in hospital having his brain drilled and drained and any short term memory with it.
With methods of torture clearly not working the gang turn their attention to another, hypnotherapy, and seek help from Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) who attempts to guide Simon through hypnosis in an attempt to find out exactly where he left the painting.
And so begins a journey of discovery, deceit, greed and lust as everything is not what it seems and loyalties will be tested to the fullest.
Simon’s hypnotic journey takes him through the idyllic French countryside, to a church filled with stolen paintings to the slick London underworld as he tries in vein to piece together his broken memory, but what unfolds is not what he or any of us are probably expecting.
Simon, Franck and Elizabeth are all pretty interwoven as characters, it’s almost hard to work out who is playing each other off against the other, whose dream we’re in and at what level. You’ll find that you care about all three of them in a different way when something more is revealed about them.
The remaining trio of Franck’s gang are probably around for far too long than they need to be, but are removed for the final heart pounding third act, which accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack really intensifies the finale.
Trance is written by John Hodge and he’s reunited with Danny Boyle again having previously worked together on such films as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, where at the crux of it all they too are heist films in a different guise.
Trance is well shot, Danny Boyle is in his element directing a dark, disturbing and at times a head scratching film, I’ve not had this much fun from a Boyle film since Shallow Grave.
Simon, an art auctioneer has a problem, well he has a few in Danny Boyle’s latest mind bending heist thriller, Trance. He’s addicted to gambling and in return for wiping his debts clear he agrees to help steel the Goya painting from an auction house for Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his criminal entourage.
In an aggressive and highly charged opening sequence, which sees Simon describe various methods in which paintings have been stolen before from the smash and grab of the old school era to the more high tech, the heist is well under way.
Simon is in the thick of the action as Franck and his accomplices take charge, and as Franck is making off with the painting he’s challenged by Simon who receives a knock to the head rendering his memory practically useless.
After staggering about through all the chaos he ends up in hospital having his brain drilled and drained and any short term memory with it.
With methods of torture clearly not working the gang turn their attention to another, hypnotherapy, and seek help from Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) who attempts to guide Simon through hypnosis in an attempt to find out exactly where he left the painting.
And so begins a journey of discovery, deceit, greed and lust as everything is not what it seems and loyalties will be tested to the fullest.
Simon’s hypnotic journey takes him through the idyllic French countryside, to a church filled with stolen paintings to the slick London underworld as he tries in vein to piece together his broken memory, but what unfolds is not what he or any of us are probably expecting.
Simon, Franck and Elizabeth are all pretty interwoven as characters, it’s almost hard to work out who is playing each other off against the other, whose dream we’re in and at what level. You’ll find that you care about all three of them in a different way when something more is revealed about them.
The remaining trio of Franck’s gang are probably around for far too long than they need to be, but are removed for the final heart pounding third act, which accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack really intensifies the finale.
Trance is written by John Hodge and he’s reunited with Danny Boyle again having previously worked together on such films as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, where at the crux of it all they too are heist films in a different guise.
Trance is well shot, Danny Boyle is in his element directing a dark, disturbing and at times a head scratching film, I’ve not had this much fun from a Boyle film since Shallow Grave.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fisherman's Friends (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
I'm a sucker for this sort of film. There's a soothing consistency to them that makes for an entertaining and wholesome watch.
Daniel Mays as Danny us just adorable, he's always good for an amusing role. If you haven't caught Swimming With Men then you probably should. Danny isn't quite the same as his music exec counterparts, while he has the bullshitting down to a t he also cares much more for others than he does himself. I absolutely love the way he is with Alwyn and her daughter.
One thing that concerns me about this film is that it made me aware that James Purefoy is now old enough to be cast as someone's grandad. When did that happen? Purefoy along with all the other actors in the gang are a vision of camaraderie. There's a great scene where they head out to London, it's funny from start to finish and filled with toe-tapping enjoyment.
As much as I loved Noel Clarke when he was in Doctor Who it can't rescue him from the stereotypical American exec role. That accent was like a punch in the face every time I heard it. Has any American ever genuinely sounded like that or is it just reserved for British actors putting on American accents?
Obviously a lot of this film is dedicated to music, the sea shanties have me goosebumps as soon as they all started singing. It doesn't necessarily matter what they're singing about, the crescendos of it are just so beautiful. I will admit that generally I wouldn't be able to tell you if films had music in the background, unless it's bad or amazing it will largely pass me by, but Fisherman's Friends had one of those rare occasions where I noticed.
There are a lot of things happening in the film, several of the main characters have something going on around them but at no point did it feel like anything was surplus to requirements. In films with a larger cast it can often end up missing or skipping over a storyline but all of them seemed to be tied up neatly at the end of this.
The ending has a very emotional sequence in it, I spent a significant amount of it crying into my cuffs. James Purefoy and Daniel Mays manage to have an incredibly powerful moment together. There was so much emotion in it that just recalling it now is making me well up as I write.
While I might not buy this one I would certainly watch it again. It's a film that I'm certain almost anyone would enjoy, you'll certainly learn a few life lessons while you watch it.
What you should do
Definitely one to see, I know not everyone is a fan of musical numbers but there's plenty to go on to keep you amused.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Where do I get myself a group to sing with? I miss a good old fashioned singalong.
Daniel Mays as Danny us just adorable, he's always good for an amusing role. If you haven't caught Swimming With Men then you probably should. Danny isn't quite the same as his music exec counterparts, while he has the bullshitting down to a t he also cares much more for others than he does himself. I absolutely love the way he is with Alwyn and her daughter.
One thing that concerns me about this film is that it made me aware that James Purefoy is now old enough to be cast as someone's grandad. When did that happen? Purefoy along with all the other actors in the gang are a vision of camaraderie. There's a great scene where they head out to London, it's funny from start to finish and filled with toe-tapping enjoyment.
As much as I loved Noel Clarke when he was in Doctor Who it can't rescue him from the stereotypical American exec role. That accent was like a punch in the face every time I heard it. Has any American ever genuinely sounded like that or is it just reserved for British actors putting on American accents?
Obviously a lot of this film is dedicated to music, the sea shanties have me goosebumps as soon as they all started singing. It doesn't necessarily matter what they're singing about, the crescendos of it are just so beautiful. I will admit that generally I wouldn't be able to tell you if films had music in the background, unless it's bad or amazing it will largely pass me by, but Fisherman's Friends had one of those rare occasions where I noticed.
There are a lot of things happening in the film, several of the main characters have something going on around them but at no point did it feel like anything was surplus to requirements. In films with a larger cast it can often end up missing or skipping over a storyline but all of them seemed to be tied up neatly at the end of this.
The ending has a very emotional sequence in it, I spent a significant amount of it crying into my cuffs. James Purefoy and Daniel Mays manage to have an incredibly powerful moment together. There was so much emotion in it that just recalling it now is making me well up as I write.
While I might not buy this one I would certainly watch it again. It's a film that I'm certain almost anyone would enjoy, you'll certainly learn a few life lessons while you watch it.
What you should do
Definitely one to see, I know not everyone is a fan of musical numbers but there's plenty to go on to keep you amused.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Where do I get myself a group to sing with? I miss a good old fashioned singalong.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) in Movies
Dec 22, 2019
A timeless classic
I can safely say that there is truly nothing I dislike about The Nightmare Before Christmas.
It's straight to the point, fantastically animated, full of unique characters, and still holds up all these years later.
Director Henry Selick obviously has a keen eye for stop-animation (he would go on to direct James & The Giant Peach, and Coraline, both great animated films in their own right), and his work with the combined animation, visual effects, and art departments create a visually striking adventure that quickly and understandably became iconic.
Tim Burton's story is easy to grasp (great for children as well as adults), and the characters he has created for this story are equal parts creepy and fun.
Jack Skellington and Sally are both tragic and sympathetic characters that are easy to care about. Oogie Boogie is suitably evil (scared the sh*t out of me when I was little), and the rest of the town of Halloween are filled but bizarre and quirky characters that create a weird but warm back drop to the leads.
Danny Elfman is at his very best here. All of the songs contained within are memorable, and pretty epic at points. The lyrics are quick and clever, and do a lot to advance our understanding of the characters.
I can't praise The Nightmare Before Christmas enough. It's simply wonderful and a film I will happily watch time and time again.
It's straight to the point, fantastically animated, full of unique characters, and still holds up all these years later.
Director Henry Selick obviously has a keen eye for stop-animation (he would go on to direct James & The Giant Peach, and Coraline, both great animated films in their own right), and his work with the combined animation, visual effects, and art departments create a visually striking adventure that quickly and understandably became iconic.
Tim Burton's story is easy to grasp (great for children as well as adults), and the characters he has created for this story are equal parts creepy and fun.
Jack Skellington and Sally are both tragic and sympathetic characters that are easy to care about. Oogie Boogie is suitably evil (scared the sh*t out of me when I was little), and the rest of the town of Halloween are filled but bizarre and quirky characters that create a weird but warm back drop to the leads.
Danny Elfman is at his very best here. All of the songs contained within are memorable, and pretty epic at points. The lyrics are quick and clever, and do a lot to advance our understanding of the characters.
I can't praise The Nightmare Before Christmas enough. It's simply wonderful and a film I will happily watch time and time again.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Saw (2004) in Movies
Sep 26, 2020
The first Saw film has become tarnished over the years, due to the relentless shit filled wave of increasingly torturous (both for the audience and the characters) sequels, when really, Saw is a relatively low budget but super tight thriller.
The premise of a serial killer who kidnaps people who don't appreciate life itself, puts them in a dire situation, but gives them a chance to escape if they fight hard enough for it, is one that is intriguing, and captured the imagination of thousands - Jigsaw has since become an iconic horror antagonist.
The unlucky victims first time around are played by Cary Elwes and writer Leigh Whannell.
The two of them are situated in a very minimalist setting. It's grimy and nasty. Director James Wan works wonders with what little he has in that respect.
The cast also includes Danny Glover, which is always a win in my book.
The gore on show in Saw is pretty minimal compared to what's to come, but what we do see is effective and was just right - coupled with a plot that keeps the audience guessing until the final minute, it was enough to get everyone talking back in 2004.
And that ending absolutely shattered me on first watch. An iconic 'Gotcha!' moment for the ages.
Saw is a genuinely decent horror thriller and a rewarding experience for those that like a good twist. Just a shame about those sequels!
The premise of a serial killer who kidnaps people who don't appreciate life itself, puts them in a dire situation, but gives them a chance to escape if they fight hard enough for it, is one that is intriguing, and captured the imagination of thousands - Jigsaw has since become an iconic horror antagonist.
The unlucky victims first time around are played by Cary Elwes and writer Leigh Whannell.
The two of them are situated in a very minimalist setting. It's grimy and nasty. Director James Wan works wonders with what little he has in that respect.
The cast also includes Danny Glover, which is always a win in my book.
The gore on show in Saw is pretty minimal compared to what's to come, but what we do see is effective and was just right - coupled with a plot that keeps the audience guessing until the final minute, it was enough to get everyone talking back in 2004.
And that ending absolutely shattered me on first watch. An iconic 'Gotcha!' moment for the ages.
Saw is a genuinely decent horror thriller and a rewarding experience for those that like a good twist. Just a shame about those sequels!
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Lawyer's Lawyer (Jack Tobin, #3) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
You know what makes certain books fantastic? Character development. That was the strongest point of The Lawyer’s Lawyer; the characters were wonderful.
Jack, the protagonist, was clever and intelligent and innovative and full of emotion (and hilarious when drunk). He was the kind of person I’d want to hang around… and for that matter, so were his friends. They left you with the feeling of belonging, of security. And by the end of the book, you’re thanking your lucky stars Jack had those friends, because they saved his rear end!
Danny was awesome. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’ll just say this: The best people are the ones who do everything in love—whether those things are good or bad is up for you to decide.
And the bad guys! Sometimes the bad guys are the best! This was definitely the case in this book. One of the characters, Sam (the police chief), started off as this guy who was a little annoying. But as the story went on, I began to like him less and less, and finally at the end, I despised him. And the lawyer who represented the State in the case? Man that guy was a twit. I hated his guts. I wanted to slap him across the face.
The other exceptional attribute of this book was the narrator for the audiobook. He is incredibly talented, giving unique and identifiable voices to each character that totally described their person in a few sounds. I’m adding Rick Zieff to my list of narrators to look for in the future!
There were a few parts I would have liked to see improved: namely the beginning of the story, a chapter in the middle, and the very last scene. In the beginning, we are met with character development and background information, which is all fine… but there’s this one random case that Jack works that has nothing to do with the main plot. I kept waiting for it to come back into the main story, but it never did, and it felt out of place.
Then there was the scene in the middle, and the other part, the ending. These scenes were just borderline sappy. Danny and Jack are in love and they date and have hot sex and get all wishy-washy and twitterpated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy being twitterpated, especially with sexy fictional characters. But I’m going to be brutally honest here… James Sheehan, you are a thriller writer… NOT a romance writer. And there’s a good reason for that: Because you suck at romance.
All in all, I absolutely loved The Lawyer’s Lawyer, and look forward to more from Sheehan.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, mild violence, mention of sex. Ages 17+
Jack, the protagonist, was clever and intelligent and innovative and full of emotion (and hilarious when drunk). He was the kind of person I’d want to hang around… and for that matter, so were his friends. They left you with the feeling of belonging, of security. And by the end of the book, you’re thanking your lucky stars Jack had those friends, because they saved his rear end!
Danny was awesome. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’ll just say this: The best people are the ones who do everything in love—whether those things are good or bad is up for you to decide.
And the bad guys! Sometimes the bad guys are the best! This was definitely the case in this book. One of the characters, Sam (the police chief), started off as this guy who was a little annoying. But as the story went on, I began to like him less and less, and finally at the end, I despised him. And the lawyer who represented the State in the case? Man that guy was a twit. I hated his guts. I wanted to slap him across the face.
The other exceptional attribute of this book was the narrator for the audiobook. He is incredibly talented, giving unique and identifiable voices to each character that totally described their person in a few sounds. I’m adding Rick Zieff to my list of narrators to look for in the future!
There were a few parts I would have liked to see improved: namely the beginning of the story, a chapter in the middle, and the very last scene. In the beginning, we are met with character development and background information, which is all fine… but there’s this one random case that Jack works that has nothing to do with the main plot. I kept waiting for it to come back into the main story, but it never did, and it felt out of place.
Then there was the scene in the middle, and the other part, the ending. These scenes were just borderline sappy. Danny and Jack are in love and they date and have hot sex and get all wishy-washy and twitterpated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy being twitterpated, especially with sexy fictional characters. But I’m going to be brutally honest here… James Sheehan, you are a thriller writer… NOT a romance writer. And there’s a good reason for that: Because you suck at romance.
All in all, I absolutely loved The Lawyer’s Lawyer, and look forward to more from Sheehan.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, mild violence, mention of sex. Ages 17+
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Homefront (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The new movie Homefront stars Jason Statham (Phil Broker), James Franco (Gator Bodine), Winona Ryder (Sheryl Gott), Kate Bosworth (Cassie Bodine), Chuck Zito (Danny T), Omar Benson Miller (Tito), Izabela Vidovic (Maddy Broker).
Written by Sylvestor Stallone. The film opens with a major drug bust going down, and inside undercover DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) gives chase to the head of the drug ring and his son. While trying to arrest the father and son team, the son is shot to death, and his father promises to kill Broker and his children.
The rest of the movie takes place a few years later in a small town in Louisiana, where a now widowed Broker and his pre-teen daughter have moved to rebuild their life. An entire series of events is set off by Broker’s daughter standing up for herself against the school bully. The bully’s mother Cassie, demands an apology and doesn’t get one enough to her liking. She escalates the situation by going to her brother, Gator, who is the town’s resident “drug kingpin”.
After Gator discovers that Broker is actually an ex-undercover DEA agent, he tries to use that information as leverage to gain business ground for his drug running enterprise, and that’s where the rest of the movie plays out.
There are a lot of action and shooting scenes, which is what one would expect from a Statham movie, but it is still pretty predictable. Once Gator brings in the “big dogs” from the city, things quickly escalate and spin out of his control. The remainder of the movie is one gun fight after another, interspersed with chase scenes, swearing, explosions and hand to hand fighting. If you’re a fan of Statham, then there are really no surprises here. If you know to expect the movie’s complete predictability and his somewhat stiff acting, you’ll enjoy it.
Written by Sylvestor Stallone. The film opens with a major drug bust going down, and inside undercover DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) gives chase to the head of the drug ring and his son. While trying to arrest the father and son team, the son is shot to death, and his father promises to kill Broker and his children.
The rest of the movie takes place a few years later in a small town in Louisiana, where a now widowed Broker and his pre-teen daughter have moved to rebuild their life. An entire series of events is set off by Broker’s daughter standing up for herself against the school bully. The bully’s mother Cassie, demands an apology and doesn’t get one enough to her liking. She escalates the situation by going to her brother, Gator, who is the town’s resident “drug kingpin”.
After Gator discovers that Broker is actually an ex-undercover DEA agent, he tries to use that information as leverage to gain business ground for his drug running enterprise, and that’s where the rest of the movie plays out.
There are a lot of action and shooting scenes, which is what one would expect from a Statham movie, but it is still pretty predictable. Once Gator brings in the “big dogs” from the city, things quickly escalate and spin out of his control. The remainder of the movie is one gun fight after another, interspersed with chase scenes, swearing, explosions and hand to hand fighting. If you’re a fan of Statham, then there are really no surprises here. If you know to expect the movie’s complete predictability and his somewhat stiff acting, you’ll enjoy it.