Movie Review: "Faster" (2010)

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Movie: "Faster"
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Year: 2010
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Upon being released from prison, an ex-con (Dwayne Johnson) sets out on a quest for revenge against the men who murdered his brother and left him for dead.

"Faster" is a simple tale of revenge, directed by George Tillman Jr. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson plays an ex-con only ever referred to as Driver. Driver has just finished a 10-year stretch for bank robbery in the county clink. Before going to prison, he and his brother were assaulted by a group of men trying to steal the money they stole. The men who kidnapped them murdered Driver's brother right in front of him and left Driver for dead, too. Now fresh out of jail, his sole purpose is to kill the men who wronged him.

Doesn't this sound like a thousand other movies you've already seen? Sure, but most of them don't have The Rock as their lead. In true hardcore fashion, Johnson takes the phrase "Boom! Headshot!" to new heights in "Faster." While he is on his quest for revenge, one of Driver's potential victims hires a hitman, played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, to put a stop to Driver's rampaging. Driver and hitman have a couple of really intense face offs, which adds to the excitement and serves as one hell of an intense game of cat and mouse. All the while, two cops played by Billy Bob Thornton and The Rock's favorite co-star Carla Gugino, are trying to catch Driver in the act. They maintain their investigation while Driver goes on his killing spree, but are always one step behind him. It really couldn't get much more basic. The entire thing plays out with a rather straightforward narrative, but there is still modicum of mystery to it all, even though at its core, it's fairly predictable.

In the end, "Faster" is a simple but rather exciting film that's a decent watch for action thriller fans. Dwayne Johnson has really come into his own as an action star, and though this vehicle might be seen as lazy and uninspired, or just another cliche ripoff of the thousands of action films that came before it, we still found him and it relatively pleasing. It has some good violence and a whole lot of ass kicking.

My Rating: 7/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 43%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
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One year ago, we were watching: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"