Review will contain some spoilers.
Caught this movie today, and I can't help but be incredibly disappointed. I'm a big fan of action movies - The Transporter, Shoot 'Em Up, etc. so I was looking forward to this one, as I also like The Rock.
So where did this movie go wrong? Virtually everywhere. The way the movie was laid out (Day 1, Day 2) had absolutely no point to it. Neither did giving The Rock, Billy Bob, and The Killer the titles. It felt like someone got their first version of Final Cut and wanted to play with some of the title features.
Billy Bob contained virtually every cop cliché seen in films - he's a few days away from retiring, he's addicted to drugs, he's on the outs with his wife/family, and he's the bad guy. Really? The entire mood of the film pointed towards him being the bad guy even before the absurdly long close-up of his wife and Gary in the old photo.
The Killer was a completely pointless character. They show this wide array of weapons being packed, a relationship wife his now-wife, and it was all for nothing. The man has a sniper rifle, yet simply looks at The Rock from afar? Yeah, that's what a professional would do. And he would certainly not keep a low-profile driving such an exotic car, right? Let's not forget the classic Bond-villain long-drawn speech that leads to the main character (eventually) getting free. And then the guy just walks off? That's it? What a waste. The ONLY thing I found interesting is the $1 he charges, as he had them framed on his wall during the also- pointless yoga scene.
So what about the fight scenes? Yeah, that's a question, because there was only one and it lasted roughly 15 seconds. Rock follows guy, shoots guy, then leaves. Where's the fun in that?
Let's not forget the lack of any kind of depth to the situation. We know the pastor spent his money on women and drugs, but what about everyone else? What was the cut? Why didn't Rock go after Gary's ex-girlfriend? Why couldn't he have killed Deb so she's not in Dexter anymore? How did not a single person recognize him in the hospital?
Come to think of it, I am being incredibly generous giving this thing a 4. Incredibly generous.
Caught this movie today, and I can't help but be incredibly disappointed. I'm a big fan of action movies - The Transporter, Shoot 'Em Up, etc. so I was looking forward to this one, as I also like The Rock.
So where did this movie go wrong? Virtually everywhere. The way the movie was laid out (Day 1, Day 2) had absolutely no point to it. Neither did giving The Rock, Billy Bob, and The Killer the titles. It felt like someone got their first version of Final Cut and wanted to play with some of the title features.
Billy Bob contained virtually every cop cliché seen in films - he's a few days away from retiring, he's addicted to drugs, he's on the outs with his wife/family, and he's the bad guy. Really? The entire mood of the film pointed towards him being the bad guy even before the absurdly long close-up of his wife and Gary in the old photo.
The Killer was a completely pointless character. They show this wide array of weapons being packed, a relationship wife his now-wife, and it was all for nothing. The man has a sniper rifle, yet simply looks at The Rock from afar? Yeah, that's what a professional would do. And he would certainly not keep a low-profile driving such an exotic car, right? Let's not forget the classic Bond-villain long-drawn speech that leads to the main character (eventually) getting free. And then the guy just walks off? That's it? What a waste. The ONLY thing I found interesting is the $1 he charges, as he had them framed on his wall during the also- pointless yoga scene.
So what about the fight scenes? Yeah, that's a question, because there was only one and it lasted roughly 15 seconds. Rock follows guy, shoots guy, then leaves. Where's the fun in that?
Let's not forget the lack of any kind of depth to the situation. We know the pastor spent his money on women and drugs, but what about everyone else? What was the cut? Why didn't Rock go after Gary's ex-girlfriend? Why couldn't he have killed Deb so she's not in Dexter anymore? How did not a single person recognize him in the hospital?
Come to think of it, I am being incredibly generous giving this thing a 4. Incredibly generous.