Faster… no real need to rush to see this one.
March 29th, 2011Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson marks his return to hard core action with this high octane attempted homage to 70’s gritty action movies.
His last attempt into this field was the highly enjoyable, and recommended Doom, but he suffered a long stint in poor performing comedies and cringe worthy family fair like the tooth fairy before he found his way back into the field most suited for him. Sad thing is that he did not pick the best vehicle for his return.
This film, while visually stunning and thoroughly gritty, is incoherent and suffers from a pieced together feel. It makes this reviewer wonder if much of the important story elements were either lost to the editing room floor or failed to be filmed to begin with. This is a fate of many a modern action movie, and clearly demonstrates a problem within the industry. Flash over substance. Story sacrificed for run-time. It also suffers from an overly simplistic twist given away far too early in the film, and a totally tacked on deranged British hired killer. In fact, that whole subplot could have been excised in favor of a more dense main plot.
That being said, The Rock’s performance was amazing as the brother out for revenge on those who killed his brother. This film is worth a go just for this. Well, that and he uses a Big Ass Revolver to rain down his justice, a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull. Not a gun you see in movies every day.
Overall, I will say that this film is worth a watch. However it may be a better option to wait for it’s turn on cable, then to spend the money on a rental. It suffers from too many negatives to justify the expense. Be sure to check out the red band trailer below.