Faster

After making a few forays into comedy, Dwayne Johnson, once known as "The Rock", returns to solid action. And there's plenty of that in "Faster". However, not too much emphasis should be placed on intelligent dialogue or a sophisticated plot.

After being released from prison, "Driver" (Dwayne Johnson) is out for revenge. Because ten years ago, he witnessed his brother brutally murdered. The perpetrators were after the loot from a big bank robbery, for which Driver served ten years behind bars. Time enough to prepare for bloody revenge. But there's someone who's not too keen on being blown to kingdom come by the ex-con. And so the "Killer" (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is hired to stop Driver. What's more, the "Cop" (Billy Bob Thornton) also hangs onto the avenging angel's heels, anxious to stop the fighting machine before he manages to work off his death list.

When a film's protagonists remain nameless until the end and their characters are drawn rather one-dimensionally, it's clear that there's no attempt to present great head-scratching cinema here at all. Rather, "Faster" wants to offer straightforward, no-frills action, which then proves to be particularly brute in places. Director George Tillmann, Jr. who last tried his hand at a somewhat different genre with the rapper biopic "Notorious B.I.G." takes great pains to compensate for the script's weak points with fast-paced action. His revenge thriller can thus also convince visually, rather than content.

Because the dialogues are almost unintentionally funny at times and there are some elements that are not exactly characterized by subtle filmmaking. For example, several times the killer looks at an old child's photo in which he can still be seen wearing a leg brace. To make sure that even the last viewer understands that the little rascal is the well-trained, vain killer, there is always a nice cut to a large scar on his leg after the photo. This actually has so little to do with the actual plot, which makes the twice-occurrence of such a sequence seem arguably thick.

In addition, the film's big mystery of who the real mastermind behind the robbery of Driver and his brother is very easy to see through and offers no real surprise when it is revealed at the end. But despite these weak points and all the clichés, "Faster" doesn't bore for a second and features quite a few superbly staged car chases, shootouts and duels. So this action thriller is nothing for the brain, but at least something for the eye - provided, of course, you have a soft spot for brute action movies.

It's also interesting to note that, after quite a few test screenings, the last eight minutes of the film were edited out to give the viewer a more concluded and positive ending. The actual ending is much more spectacular and offers room for a possible sequel in two ways at once. While it can be understood why the makers ultimately decided to forgo this ending, as it already feels contrived in a way. But on balance it would have been the more consistent ending, which would have been a bit more in line with the basic tone of the movie. Interested fans can look forward to the DVD and Blu-Ray, which will of course include this alternate ending. Until then, however, it's worth a visit to the cinema, because despite quite a few weaknesses, "Faster" is a decent piece of action cinema - no more, but also no less!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp