For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Faster
The Impression:
A big burly action flick featuring fast cars, attractive
ladies, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson busting heads like
we’ve been expecting him to since The Rundown.
The Reality:
What ever happened to The Rock? He played football, he was
an electrifying wrestler, he starred in cult-favorite The
Rundown - he had all the makings of a modern day action
hero. And then, perhaps lured by the scent of freshly
printed money, he turned to child-friendly comedic fare.
Faster, a film that promises explosions and violence and
epic car chases, doesn’t help Mr. Johnson’s resume either.
Completely squandering the premise, this "revenge" film
turns in to a barely noticeable mystery that fails to use
Dwayne Johnson’s talents as a sheer wrecking ball of
violence. Instead it wraps itself, meekly around a story of
redemption that features Billy Bob Thornton as a drugged-out
cop, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as an assassin in need of
therapy.
What I wanted most was Dwayne Johnson rampaging through the
streets, beating up bad guys, tearing people’s heads off,
unloading his firearm in public places. Instead Faster tries
to attach sentimentality to the idea, completely neutering
any sense of danger or excitement.
The Lesson:
You can’t trust The Rock anymore. Everything he does comes
candy coated in family friendly gloss.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
-
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
Creative Commons License.
