Parker

JP Liz V1

Latest Jason Statham flick directed by Taylor Hackford based on Parker novel Flashfire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQOPqdoKyOg

Yes it is another Statham flick so same ole same ole but to be fair to him he does well in the action genre, he is probably one the biggest action movie stars currently around plus the supporting cast here of Michael Chiklis, Clifton Collins Jnr and Nick Nolte should make it worth a look
perhaps on dvd

BTW it tanked at the US box office Jennifer Lopez getting the blame

Jumboman

Anyone here see it ?

delbertgrady

It's all relative, but I have to say I enjoyed it. Compared to A Good Day to Die Hard, it's a bloody masterpiece, but that's not difficult, to be honest. Statham movies follow a generic pattern. He walks tall and growls. People get beat up. They're never especially well made or brilliantly written, but most times you get what you came for.
I've never been a fan of Jennifer Lopez, but I thought she was fine in this. Of course, the whole thing is utterly nonsensical, but there are some decent action sequences and, from an overall perspective, it has a better overall "look" than something like The Mechanic.
What can I say? Some days, I'm in the humour for worthy French drama; other times, I'm happy to sit through The Stath doing a dodgy Texas accent and throwing men off balconies.

Galvasean

2 hour film with about 20 minutes of action in it. Statham has much better action movies in his locker.

Rather than head out for a few pints I decided to throw this on instead. I really enjoyed it, it's a nasty, violent, pulpy thriller that many seem to have mistaken for an out and out action film.

Anyone familiar with Donald E. Westlake's novels will find a lot to enjoy here. Statham perfectly captures the essence of Parker, he's a nonsense son of a bitch who would put a bullet in you just as quickly as smile at you. He lives by his own set of ethics and adheres to them, I was genuinely surprised and delighted that Lopez wasn't just used as the token love interest. But rather, like many of the female characters in the novels was involved in the overall crime and without whom it may have all fallen apart.

The script is lacking and the decision to saddle Parker with something akin to a heart of gold is unfortunate though that said there was quite a bit of humour in the way his nice side was used. The set up is quite generic and no doubt many will claim that it rips off Pay Back and Point Blank not reaslising that they, like Parker are all based on the works of Westlake. What's surprising about Parker is that it's the first of the 9 or so adaptations of Westlake's character to use the name. This is no doubt due to Westlake's death and him no longer being in a position to demand that the name be changed, still the film acts as a nice memorial to one of crime fictions finest voices.

Statham is the real star here and it's nice to see him have the opportunity to stretch more than his biceps. He's handles the action superbly but it's in the quieter moments where he really shines. He's a charismatic presence who was born to play the role and hopefully he'll eb given the opportunity to walk in Parkers shoes again.

Sadly, as good as Statham is it's clear that director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter John McLaughlin aren't sure what sort of film they want to make. Far too much time is spent depciting Lopez's mundane home life. Entire scenes feel like they were lifted from some generic rom com where Lopez plays a feisty middle aged woman getting on with her life after divorce. These scenes really drag the film down and are the antithesis to what a Parker films should be. Thankfully as dull and uninteresting as they are were never too far away from some good old fashioned raw, brutal violence.

Parker pulls no punches when it comes to painting the screen red and it's refreshing to see a medium budgeted thriller that isn't pandering to a PG13 audience.

Parker is by no means a classic but for a lazy Sunday evening it's perfect. It's may thread familiar ground but it do so in a likeable manner with a fine cast and some of the more wincce inducing violence in a long time. Westlake's legacy deserves something a little more substantial but it's safe to say that he'd approve of most of Parker.

JP Liz V1

I was disappointed that

as the main villain Michael Chiklis's character was very underused and that Nick Nolte's character didn't actually turn out to be a villain

Lopez and Statham had zero chemistry