I admire Jason Statham, I really do. He's managed to transform being a bald, vaguely threatening Englishman into movie fame and fortune (see: Transporter series, Crank series, etc.). He's found his niche, and he's sticking with it; more power to him.
But this movie is pretty bad. I saw another reviewer describe this movie as a thriller. It is not. Nothing happens in this movie that you can't see coming a mile away. Here's the Reader's Digest condensed version which CONTAINS SPOILERS. Jason Statham is a badass professional murderer-- Sorry, hit-man-- who likes to kill his targets in ways that look like accidents, which is kinda clever. He works for "the company", which is never named, so I'm going to call it Evil, Incorporated. Evil, Inc is run by two guys: The soft spoken, wheelchair bound older guy who's been Statham's character's friend since forever. The other guy has a corporate haircut, wears an expensive suit and rides around in a convoy of sleek black vehicles, accompanied by sunglasses-wearing men with guns.
Anyway, Corporate Guy tells Statham that his old friend is In League With The Enemy, and Statham kills his old pal at Corporate Guy's behest. The Old Pal's drunken loser kid shows up and asks Statham to train him up so he can find and kill the man who killed his dad. Statham agrees, because I guess a washed up, vengeance crazed drunk is the guy you want along when speed, silence, and skill are your keys to survival. Cue training montage.
Statham finds out that Corporate Guy is SPOILERS AHEAD the real villain (bet you didn't see that coming). They set out to kill him, Drunk Loser Kid finds out Statham killed his dad, they kill Corporate Guy, Loser Kid tries to kill Statham, but Statham gets away and kills him instead. Roll credits.
In addition to the cookie cutter plot, there were a few other things that annoyed me. 1) Statham's character is utterly unsympathetic. He's a loner who kills people for money. His only female companionship is a hooker. 2) He's supposed to live in the bayou area near New Orleans. His house has glass walls. Never mind that his work depends on secrecy; that's a hurricane zone. 3) I know this is small, but anyway: during the training scene, we see Statham and Drunk Kid shooting various guns. In one show motion cut, someone fires a Barret-type .50 caliber rifle, and the spent casing gets ejected toward the camera. The casing is crimped on the projectile end-- It's a freaking BLANK. Seriously, guys?
Wait for the DVD and watch it with pizza and easily amused friends.
But this movie is pretty bad. I saw another reviewer describe this movie as a thriller. It is not. Nothing happens in this movie that you can't see coming a mile away. Here's the Reader's Digest condensed version which CONTAINS SPOILERS. Jason Statham is a badass professional murderer-- Sorry, hit-man-- who likes to kill his targets in ways that look like accidents, which is kinda clever. He works for "the company", which is never named, so I'm going to call it Evil, Incorporated. Evil, Inc is run by two guys: The soft spoken, wheelchair bound older guy who's been Statham's character's friend since forever. The other guy has a corporate haircut, wears an expensive suit and rides around in a convoy of sleek black vehicles, accompanied by sunglasses-wearing men with guns.
Anyway, Corporate Guy tells Statham that his old friend is In League With The Enemy, and Statham kills his old pal at Corporate Guy's behest. The Old Pal's drunken loser kid shows up and asks Statham to train him up so he can find and kill the man who killed his dad. Statham agrees, because I guess a washed up, vengeance crazed drunk is the guy you want along when speed, silence, and skill are your keys to survival. Cue training montage.
Statham finds out that Corporate Guy is SPOILERS AHEAD the real villain (bet you didn't see that coming). They set out to kill him, Drunk Loser Kid finds out Statham killed his dad, they kill Corporate Guy, Loser Kid tries to kill Statham, but Statham gets away and kills him instead. Roll credits.
In addition to the cookie cutter plot, there were a few other things that annoyed me. 1) Statham's character is utterly unsympathetic. He's a loner who kills people for money. His only female companionship is a hooker. 2) He's supposed to live in the bayou area near New Orleans. His house has glass walls. Never mind that his work depends on secrecy; that's a hurricane zone. 3) I know this is small, but anyway: during the training scene, we see Statham and Drunk Kid shooting various guns. In one show motion cut, someone fires a Barret-type .50 caliber rifle, and the spent casing gets ejected toward the camera. The casing is crimped on the projectile end-- It's a freaking BLANK. Seriously, guys?
Wait for the DVD and watch it with pizza and easily amused friends.
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