Synopsis:
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a getaway driver. 10 years before the film begins, his gang, including his brother, pulled a heist which had unforeseen consequences that led to the rest of the gangs death. Now out of prison, Driver is out to avenge his brothers death by picking off the bad guys one by one.
Faster does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a film about an ex-con on a mission to avenge the death of his brother. That the ex-con is played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson gives the film some star weighting but not much more than that. There are no surprises with this film. You get pretty much what you expect: What you expect to happen, happens; Who you expect to be the ring-leader, is the ring-leader; The lead character flirts with redemption and salvation but instead decides to go down the vengeance route.
If you go in expecting Oscar winning acting performances and complicated narratives then you’ll be sorely disappointed, but if you go in expecting a meat-head action film about an ex-con on a revenge mission then you’ll get what you want. Maybe that’s not entirely true because there are times when the action wanes and the film drags a bit as a result. There’s not the full frontal, all out action you might expect for the full 2 hours. Instead there’s a sub-plot involving a not entirely convincing hitman who is on the trail of our anti-hero at the bequest of the ring-leader. And if you can’t actually keep up with the story there’s even a nice little monologue summary at the end to tie things into a nice neat bow and explain what was telegraphed during the film.
Is it the best action film you'll ever see? No. Is it The Rock's best film? No. Is it the best action film starring an ex-wrestler? Mmm, probably not.
