This was a tough film to review because overall I felt it’s a bit of a mixed bag. It’s got some well know stars, some great dialogue and a few moments, but to be honest I have never heard of it and its name sounds like a computer game.
British favourite Jason fu#@ing Statham stars as Phil Broker, a former undercover DEA agent who two years after a fatal drug bust on a meth biker gang, has retreated with his daughter to a quiet southern American town. His daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic) hurts a bully while defending herself, and the bully’s mother Cassie Klum (Bosworth) isn’t too happy. Cassie recruits her meth drug lord brother Morgan Gator’ Bodine (James Franco) to get revenge against their family’s honour. This sets in motion a series of events which brings up the past that Broker thought he’d left behind.
On paper this looks like a solid action film: black and white, good versus bad. While the action is gory, brutal and what you’d expect from a Jason Statham flick, it feels out of place as the majority of this film is a drama about broken families, standing up against bullies and doing what you feel is right. In essence it’s a modern western focusing on the new guy in town who can’t escape his past.
Statham is fine in this role and actually shows off some of his acting chops as a caring father. Broker is recently widowed and it shows. He wants a simple life as a carpenter and is raising his daughter whilst adjusting to their new town. There are some great moments between Broker and Maddy which also gets some of the films best chuckles.
However it’s a small town where people talk and often hold a grudge, in this case its family honour on Cassie’s part and the involvement of Gator. James Franco is great as always but I can never picture him as a villain. He has his moments in this film but unfortunately he’s a bit one dimensional and comes across as an opportunist who doesn’t think things through. As such you neither hate him, nor feel any empathy towards him.
Kate Bosworth is very stereotypical in this film to the degree of annoyance and just reminded me of how much I miss Jerry Springer. We delve into her bullying influence on her family and her addiction to meth, but just as there seems to be any sort of redemption, her character is seemingly left by the editor and we don’t get any sense of closure.
However I did enjoy seeing Winona Ryder as a junkie who is recruited by Gator to negotiate. She genuinely seems like a mess who is only doing things for her next fix however her character seemed a bit wooden, just like a few in this film. A standout for me was Sheriff Rodrigue played by Clancy Brown. In his few scenes his presence as the local law was dynamic and I wish he got a bigger part.
But for me this film quickly descended into southern redneck stereotypes: fat kids, ill-educated parents, drug addicts and general hillbillies. It seemed that the only positive influences came from the characters who weren’t born there and Broker’s black friend, Teedo, who lends some wise words about the Klum family.
For a film that tries to be realistic some things just don’t make sense. In the opening scene the DEA’s body armour must be made of tissue paper, and if a retired undercover agent keeps detailed files at his home then he’s asking for trouble.
As I’ve mentioned the main problem for me was that this film had an inconsistent tone. The action scenes are well shot and fast paced but bookend the film. For the majority of the time the use of soundtrack, great cinematography, greater revelations about the town and the local authority all lead to a feeling of a drama focusing on the effects of drug addiction and small town America.
The producers must have taken inspiration from Breaking Bad (2008-2013) and Sons of Anarchy (2008-present), borrowed elements and cooked them together. However both of those shows are superior to this film. What would have made it a lot better is if they would have had a more personal story for the quest for justice like Walking Tall (2004) or just made it a bit more fun like Con Air (1997), two films that sprung to mind when reviews this one.
It felt overlong and the ending was devoid of any real tension, threat or closure. It went by the numbers and you know what’s going to happen to the biker gang members who go up against Statham. It’s a different type of action movie, perhaps catering to our modern hero-with-feelings and actions-with-consequences mentality, but for me it was mostly forgettable.
Extra wise we have a Stand Off making of’ feature which reveals Sylvester Stallone was the screenwriter and Statham was drawn to the emotion in the script. Unlike other making of’s this barely skims the surface. The Gator Featurette focuses on Franco’s character interlacing footage and interviews. At under 90 seconds we don’t get a lot which is a shame.
Deleted scenes include some unnecessary footage with Broker and Maddy, and unforgivable footage from the ending which ties up loose ends and has a touching moment with Cassie that they should have left in!
Overall Verdict: Just like meth users this film is a mess and almost bi-polar in its presentation. It’s watchable, has some good moments of drama and shows a different side to Statham, but unfortunately is rather forgettable.
Reviewer: George Elcombe