Review: Faster (2010) TH

Flexes like a bodybuilder, stings like a bullet

"Faster" treads fiercely and also gives way to a certain poetic license. Call it a simplistic, unmuddled revenge film that's affected by savage grace. It's reminiscent of iconic westerns about a loner with demons in his closet related to a past traumatic event that's now come full circle.

The look and feel carries a tone from the distinctive tint to some of the unpolished locales and shady characters. The pace is set with jarring, off-center camera angles, to being more of a slow burn with subtle panning to get its message home. This is truly a basic action film that exaggerates as it does inject plausibility. The mechanics help drive this forward, because without 'em there wouldn't have been much to see that already hasn't been done before.

The theme is as simple as a silent type (Dwayne Johnson) fresh outta lockup with strict purpose: to systematically hunt down targets that are revealed in flashbacks. A few hazards are thrown his way, but with his height, bulk and fearlessness there's not much to stop the juggernaut from rolling because he's, you guessed, "faster." He's got an old school vibe: muscle car, six shooter and scars to show his battle wounds. A Batman type (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), that isn't afraid to break the law, gets hot on his trail to stop him with his new school gadgets and playboy looks, as well as the confident detective (Carla Gugino) and her unwanted shady looking new partner (Billy Bob Thornton) with a continual scruff and look of "user" on his face.

For the most part, the characters aren't hardened stone throughout as the filmmakers show evolution from their intended course. One could say they "grew" from the initial outset, while others, like in real life, remain unchanged. Dwayne Johnson's character is a man's man who is talented behind the wheel and when needed for action is unflinching. He purposely expunges nearly all emotion but takes on the role of intimidation with his pulsating neck and commanding biceps of authority.

The movie has testosterone flowing through its veins with point blank executions and car chases. There are layers but nothing that would peel back the onion like a strict drama. This has some artistic, never-used-in-real-life dialogue sprinkled about that feels forced to fit in some areas, like they came from a practiced writer instead of from different people with different personalities. "Faster" is an effective cinematic experience that balances grit and candid entertainment while still pausing to smell the flowers that might have gotten some petrol and blood on their pedals.

Director: George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Notorious)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Tom Berenger
Website: IMDB

NIC CAGE MONTH: Snake's Eyes (1998)

Well, got to keep Nic Cage Month rolling somehow, so let’s just dive into 1998’s Snake Eyes, directed by Brian De Palma.

Director: You don't read very well, do you?

Starring: You're not really paying attention, are you?

Here's the website!

I know what you’re thinking. Brian De Palma? Didn’t he direct that inimitable gangster classic Scarface? Well, yes. But he also directed the pinnacle of ass-ness known as 2006’s Black Dahlia; a film so horrible that it defies all conventions of horribleness known to man. So what was I supposed to expect from this? Well, it’s a bit in between those two extremes.

I mean, on the one hand, it’s got Nic Cage playing a badass action hero. He does a good job at that, and he does a good job here. His performance is goofy but also heartfelt, and you really get into watching him kick ass as the movie goes on. There are no freak outs in this movie, though. He plays it pretty straight, and overall his performance is acceptable. Carla Gugino is also good as the female lead, mysterious and sexy – you get to see her without a shirt on a few times, if that’s all you care about in a movie chick. She’s pretty convincing, if not a little shallow. I think that’s one of the movie’s main problems – most of these characters are just too shallow. Gary Sinise is especially disappointing. I just didn’t believe his character at all, aided in no small part by the absurd and confusing change his character goes through in the second half.

And the directing is just so sloppy I have a hard time believing that De Palma really thought he was doing a good job. Was he just high the whole time? There are numerous times in this movie where the camera seems to be doing something totally different than what is actually going on in the story. Some of the angles and shots are just awkward as hell. One that I remember in particular is when the camera is doing a bird’s eye view of everything going on in the various hotel rooms. That’s OK, right? Well, yeah, until you PLACE THE BIRD’S EYE VIEW OVER THE TWO CENTRAL CHARACTERS while they’re having a conversation, holding it there like you just went out to lunch and forgot. I mean, come on. This was passed as good directing? It’s not even that stylish. The whole movie is full of weird, awkward shots like that.

So really, with such haphazard directing and uninspired character writing, the only thing that could possibly save this movie was the story, which does admittedly deliver. It’s just a really solid story, and it’s entertaining and engaging even when De Palma is trying his best to screw it up. So yeah, a senator gets killed and everyone is locked inside this boxing arena waiting to be interrogated, while Nic Cage tries to find out who killed the senator and why. He uncovers a big conspiracy, and things get even wackier from there.

So, yeah, this is one of the more average and workmanlike Nic Cage movies. It’s fun, but ultimately shallow and you probably won’t care too much to revisit it after one viewing. Oh and he goes to jail at the end for his crimes. HOORAY FOR BRINGING CORRUPT OFFICIALS TO JUSTICE.

And it isn’t like he doesn’t get Carla Gugino at the end anyway. If he had taken better care of his finances, though, she wouldn’t have had to do Race to Witch Mountain or any Spy Kid movies, and Nic Cage wouldn’t have had to do The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Oops. I have to review that one now, don’t I? Damn.

"You WILL watch me...YOU WILL."