Parker (DVD Screening)

(Spoilers)

Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez in a classic revenge style action flick, I should have loved it, unfortunately this wasn’t the case.  Parker has it all on paper, good leads for this genre and a plot that encompasses heists and revenge however Parker suffers from a pacing issue for the most of the screen time.

Parker starts well and has promise however after the initial opening sequence has died down the plot kind of forgets to pick up the pace again.  However saying that when the action does arrive it packs a punch but it was almost too little too late.  The best scene in the entire movie is the hotel room fight, it reminded me a lot of the scene in Quantum Of Solace in which Bond deals with an assailant in a similar fashion and was incredibly enjoyable.  The final scene is also great although I would have liked to seen a little more ground covered, of course this isn’t possible because of the state that Parker (Statham) is in which was a shame as I would have liked to see him go full throttle against his enemies, nonetheless Statham still delivers and creates a good finale.

The supporting cast was not great, especially Michael Chiklis.  Now I only really know this actor for his portrayal of The Thing in the Fantastic Four movies and I think that role has hidden well the fact that he isn’t a very convincing actor, I’m referring mainly to the first confrontation at the beginning of the movie in the car. This scene was very poor but after this he seemed to settle well into the film.

The film could have been a bit brighter too, I think the whole thing just needed a lift.  Better cars, nicer houses, more girls it was just missing that visual aspect that films like these thrive off.  It had the location I just don’t think it exploited it very well, saying that Jennifer Lopez fulfilled her role well, as expected.

BIGGEST FLAW – Poor acting in parts

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – Hotel room fight

Parker wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful,  it kept my attention and it was entertaining. Ultimately if this film didn’t have Statham it would have been a flop in my eyes.  I am always going to enjoy watching Statham in roles like these and he brings a great presence to the action scene – I’m yet to find a performance of his that I didn’t enjoy. Quite simply he is a beast and a clear contender for the best action star.

Rating – 6/10