by Broken Headphones For more than a decade now, Jason Statham has successfully established himself as easily the most reliable action star in recent cinema. In nearly every flick with his name attached to it, you can always expect to find some formulaic acting, dry humor, and memorable, frenetic action sequences. And while this still remains true in his turn as "Parker," the criminal anti-hero of Donald E. Westlake's popular novel series, the rest of the film simply refuses to keep up and ends up washing away what little positive attributes it has in a sea of stupidity. Statham's Parker is essentially just the same, derivative character he usually plays: a ruthlessly efficient, virtually indestructible criminal with a conscience. After a gang of thugs (Michael Chiklis, Clifton Collins Jr., and Wendell Pierce) betrays him following a routine fairgrounds heist, Parker miraculously recovers from his serious injuries and heads to Florida to dish out his revenge. He uses local real estate agent Leslie (Jennifer Lopez) to locate the gang's lair, and it isn't long before she becomes attracted to him. Living with her cleaning-obsessed mom (Patti LuPone) and short on cash, Leslie is desperate to find a wealthy man who can help provide for her. But once she realizes her client's actual intentions, she's already far too involved, so she hesitantly agrees to team up with him, if only for some financial gain. Together, they devise a plan to hijack the gang's next big heist, take everyone down, and get away clean. There isn't much to the plot, which is packed with so many contrived twists and turns that it nearly becomes impossible to stay invested in what's going on. It doesn't help that Statham and Lopez's unconvincing chemistry goes nowhere. But once the movie moves past all the bland drama and goes right for the action, that's when things finally start to pick up. Every fight scene here is sharply and intensely executed in a way that makes them feel lucid and startlingly brutal. This film's bloodshed is also surprisingly graphic, making the violence all the more believable. But aside from the in-your-face carnage, nothing ever really stands out about "Parker." The storyline is predictable to a fault, the characters have as much development as a brown paper bag, and the convoluted subplots only stretch out this film even further than it has to. While the fast-paced action sequences are entertaining, they just aren't enough to make up for the flick's so-so acting, run-of-the-mill characters, uneven pacing, and thoroughly generic script. It may not be the weakest movie Statham's ever been a part of, but it definitely stands as one of his more forgettable adventures. Even so, if you're simply looking for some solid, action-packed entertainment in the form of a standard heist flick, you can do a lot worse than this. At the very least, it's worth a single watch, but nothing more. by ceyman Good movie, however, what makes Jennifer Lopez believe she can act. She should stick to part-time motherhood. by Apple Fan 12 Something tells me that 99% of Jennifer Lopez's acting abilities are spent on containing her ego, even while shooting a movie. She's now a third-rate actress at best, and this is a second rate movie, but the action is great enough that if you're here for just another random Jason Statham action movie, you won't be disappointed. That's why I was here, and I enjoyed it.
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