A lone man, recently released from prison, seeks out the people from his past who he believes betrayed him. While he forces each to atone for their sins, he must also face what meting out vengeance will do to his immortal soul. Meanwhile, he's not the only one looking to settle old scores. Hired by the man responsible for the events which lead him to prison, an eccentric contract killer follows his every move. Scenes of them crossing paths, sometimes violently, are interspersed with the assassin's self-realizations of how to deal with struggles within his own life. As if old enemies & hired guns aren't enough, a young female detective begrudgingly works alongside a veteran investigator looking to simply survive his last two weeks on the force before retirement, as they seek out the brazen ex-con who has been blazing a path of gasoline-powered destruction in his vintage Chevelle. An ex-con gets on a series of apparently unrelated killings. He gets tracked by a veteran cop with secrets of his own and an egocentric hit man. It's been a while since we've had a good anti-hero movie of the old school and this, thankfully, is one of them. While maybe not quite up there with films the likes of Payback (still the best anti-hero film IMO) or Get Carter (the original), it does it's job quite admirably. No diversions with a love interest - the ruin of so many great action films over the years - just a solid, well paced movie that's all about kicking ass and chewing gum, and it's all out of gum.<br/><br/>Dwayne really did a great job here being iron hard for most of it, but with hints of vulnerability and pain where it was needed. He's really starting to grow as an actor. I just wish he'd start focusing more on these sorts of films and stay away from the goofy family films. Does he want to be a serious actor or Brandon Frasier? Anyway, he was perfect for the role and knocked it out of the park.<br/><br/>Billy Bob and Carla Gugina were both solid as always. Oliver Cohen and his "wife" were the major weak spots in this film. Not that the acting was bad - nor was it particularly good - but the characters themselves were poorly developed and wrong for this film. While I'm sure he was intended as a foil for Dwayne's character, he was just too over the top, more cartoon-character than actual villain.<br/><br/>Still, all in all, Faster is an enjoyable ride and bound to be one of those films you'll look forward to watching on TV every now and then over the years. Or like myself, once a year I'll just a whole lazy Sunday watching a pile of classic anti-hero films of which this will be one.<br/><br/>P.S. Hollywood take note. It's hard to go wrong with the anti-hero film. Hell, even a straight action film…IF you stick to the action. If I wanted to see a love interest develop I'd go see a date film, OK? Released from jail after ten years a man goes on a killing spree using a kill list to avenge his bothers death before the police stop him or a hired assassin kills him.<br/><br/>Amongst a stellar supporting cast Tom Berenger briefly cameos, here Dwayne Johnson is less caricature and plays against type cast delivering the acting required for such a weighty role. Billy Bob Thornton gives a fine performance as washed out cop. However, Maggie Grace is given little to do as the killers partner. As well as the engaging story the unusual hit-man/ assassin character 'Killer play by Oliver Jackson-Cohen' is wonderfully written by Tony Gayton and Joe Gayton.<br/><br/>It's essentially a modern Western reminiscent High Plain Drifter (1973) and more recently thriller Falling Down (1993) to name a few. Director George Tillman Jr. delivers a gritty revenge redemption flick with some good action setups, great visuals but to is credit the pleasant surprise is that it's character driven and has a fine closing twist. A stripped-down affair, from title to characters to plot. It never strives to be more, instead concentrating on making the most of its self-imposed limitations.
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364 weeks ago