Movie Review: Faster

Faster is an action thriller movie starring Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Moon Bloodgood, Tom Berenger, and Carla Gugino. When Jimmy Cullen leaves prison after serving his time for armed robbery, he locates three things: his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, a gun, and a list of names. The people involved in their betrayal after their last heist, and responsible for the death of his brother. Soon those names start getting ticked off as the body count rises. But a hitman has been hired to eliminate Jimmy and so a game of cat and mouse begins. The story is a lot more complex than expected with nice twists and turns and some spectacular double and triple cross.

Dwayne Johnson as Jimmy is what we all expect of The Rock – he’s big and brawny, can knock down anyone, and is definitely the go-to guy when you need help in a bar fight. Although typecast, Johnson always manages to imbue his roles with a sense of integrity and realism so that you believe he is the character, in this case Jimmy avenging his brother’s death. Even when he plays the ‘bad guy,’ Johnson is always somehow a ‘good guy.’ Playing off Johnson is Billy Bob Thornton, always a superb actor. Anyone who likes little guy versus big corporation scenarios should watch him in Goliath. Here he plays Det. Slade Humphries who is a not-so-squeaky clean cop with a fervent desire to bring Jimmy Cullen in and put him back behind bars, where he surely belongs. He is partnered with Det. Cicero played by Carla Gugino. I haven’t seen much of this actress, but her performances are always solid and, as a supporting character, she is watchable and steady.

I thought this would be a nice mindless action movie to while away a few hours, with not too much thought required and a simple open and shut plot. Faster is anything but that and really surprised me. Yes, there is a lot of driving very fast, much bloodshed, bad guys getting their come-uppance, and Jimmy Cullen isn’t in a forgiving mood. But there are several unexpected moments, and this drives the often-surprising plot twists. The final revelation, when Jimmy realizes who set them up, who betrayed them, and who shot him in the head all those years ago and left him for dead, is jaw-dropping. The resolution with the hired killer is also quite intriguing as the killer’s subplot unfolds. Overall, not your average wham-bam-kill-’em-all movie. Very well worth watching. Make popcorn. Lots of it.