Faster: Movie Review

As bad-ass as Dwayne Johnson was as his wrestling persona "The Rock", the complete opposite can be said for his acting career. While some may argue that Dwayne Johnson has actually starred in action films (and we have to agree he has), those movies are actually a small droplet when compared to him starring in family-friendly or comedy films (or in some cases even both genres combined). To each his own right? If Dwayne Johnson has found success in such films, then so be it. But there is just an itch in the back of our minds that he can definitely do more with his career by being a little bit more serious with his roles. "Faster" definitely looks to be a good contender as a start. Read on to find out if this holds true or not.

Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has just been released from prison and he is out for vengeance for those who got him into prison and worse, for those who murdered his brother right in front of him. Out to stop Driver is Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a self-made millionaire hitman who kills as a hobby. A mysterious man has hired him to stop Driver at all costs. On the other side of the fence, Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and Cicero (Carla Gugino) are investigating the first victims of Driver. They know who he is but can they stop him before he kills everyone involved in the cold-blooded killing of his brother?

The moment you see Dwayne Johnson running non-stop in the first minutes of "Faster", you just know that this is going to be a wild and possibly an unbelievable action showcase. The real question though is if that was a good sign or not - we would definitely side on the latter. "Faster" lacks any substance from the characters involved, with its story and even the action. Take the character of Driver for example - we can count the number of times he had spoken a line. Most of the time, he just breathed or grunted. Another example is Killer. His character pops in and out of the film and as much as he is shown as a perfect hitman, it boggles us why he lacks the drive and creativity to finally catch up with Dwayne Johnson's character. You see, "Faster" fails to develop anything. It gives you ideas with great potential but it never contemplates in actually bringing these into fruition. "Faster" tries to be hip and cool and it actually looks slick overall but it can never escape the reality that it is nothing more than flash.

Rating: 2 and a half reels





Why you should watch it:
- a slick action film on the looks department

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- all flash but lacks substance even in its action segments