Movie Review Rewind: Faster (2010)

Brandon Vick flips the calendar back to 2010 for a look at Dwayne Johnson in Faster on this edition of Movie Review Rewind.

Share This Post

Finally,  The Rock, I mean Dwayne Johnson, has come back to the genre of action. After being in Race to Witch Mountain, Tooth Fairy, Planet 51 and The Game Plan, Johnson chooses the adrenaline-fueled, violent Faster to bring him back to the dark side. And while the movie delivers on muscle cars chasing each other and bullets flying and going in to people’s brains, it is too predictable and most of us will be one step ahead of the twists.

Johnson plays Driver, who served 10 years in prison and only has one thing on his mind when he is released: Revenge. He is going to kill every single person who was responsible for murdering his brother after they were double-crossed during a bank heist. And he wastes no time getting started. But while Driver is on a mission, he is being followed by a cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and a hired hit man (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

At first, you would think this is Dwayne Johnson’s movie but it really is not. He shares the movie with Thornton and Cohen and all three stories are going on at once. Thornton is close to retirement and is battling a drug addiction while trying to keep his family together. And Cohen is so successful as a hit man, he has become bored. But more importantly, he has fallen in love with his girlfriend Lily (Maggie Grace) and wants to get married. Now at of all three stories, the hit man wanting to get hitched is the worst. It is almost pointless because he never appears to be threatening, and his storyline becomes more irrelevant as the movie goes on.

Director George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Notorious) gives a throwback to the 70s with Faster. It has attitude and pure action and it does not stress over the logistics or the reality of the situation. The movie has this coolness about it because Driver and Tillman just don’t give a damn. They are doing things their way. And Tillman tries to explore the issue of revenge and forgiveness and what it can do to a person. The central characters all deal with this throughout and there are flashes of goodness in each of them. But the movie gives up on it. It’s importance is ignored because of all the chaos going on.

Faster, like its characters, is relentless and ruthless. It is not as smart as it thinks it is, but for those who want to see Dwayne Johnson being a badass again, this movie is for you. Johnson’s presence can overshadow his acting, but a man of his size, that is to be expected. Johnson is good in this but not a lot of acting was required. He barely speaks a word. But who has time to talk when you have a car to drive and people to kill. He is a busy man.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get updates and learn from the best

More To Explore