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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Faster (Film)

by James Fletcher | February 01, 2011 12:39 | Edited February 02, 2011 16:18

While it sticks to the formula of a revenge thriller, the characters are fully realised, surprisingly transforming this into a compelling human drama.

Dwayne Johnson - the artist formerly known as The Rock - firmly shakes off the nice guy persona to embrace the brutal, malicious ex-con hell bent on avenging his brother's death in Faster. However, while Faster plays solidly as a genre film, it's director George Tillman Jr.'s (Notorious) subtle manipulation of the audience that elevates this revenge thriller into a compelling human drama.

 

From the outset, Tillman sets about introducing his three main players as superficial artifacts of an overworked genre, boldly labeling each in the simplest of terms: Driver, Cop and Killer. After the introductions are established, however, Tillman begins to craft layers to each of his leading characters. He moves them from clichés to fully realised and emotionally engaging individuals, which then drives the narrative into surprising and unexpected directions.

 

Firmly hinged on Johnson's performance as Driver, Faster literally begins as the menacing ex-con is released from prison only to walk into a call centre and brutally shoot one of the staff. From there, we are introduced to Cop, a superb performance from Billy Bob Thornton as a washed-up detective with a taste for heroin.

 

With the investigation underway, the police realise Driver has embarked on a series of revenge killings spawned by his brother's murder after a double-cross left his team of bank robbers dead. With the violence escalating, Killer (newcomer Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a hired assassin with narcissistic tendencies, is bought in to eliminate Driver before he reaches another of his intended targets.

 

All fairly standard fare for the genre, but as the story unfolds, Tillman slowly begins to imbue his characters with depth, playing on Driver's rage-fuelled exhaustion, Cop's desperation to close the case and Killer's realisation that Driver may actually be infallible. This results in a surprisingly well crafted, brutal and engaging thriller, complete with the obligatory twists and turns.