When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson left metformin side effects 500mg professional wrestling for the silver screen seven years ago, it was heralded as the return of the action star. Johnson was supposed to be the real muscle hero we had been waiting for since the decline of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, a man’s man that would kick ass and spit out one-liners into the next decade. He even had a passing of the torch moment with the governator himself in The Rundown. Poor choice of roles and the ever-evolving nature of Hollywood saw that this never quite came to pass, but in Faster, Johnson has come the closest yet to fulfilling the great promise he once held.
Faster is unquestionably metformin hcl 500 mg weight loss a guy-movie. With Dwayne Johnson showcasing the inner badass we always knew he had, manly violence, Billy Bob Thornton, and an old school Chevelle that can outrun a Ferrari, this is one for the boys. This is not to say Faster is single minded and devoid of relationships and character. In fact, quite the opposite holds true. Faster is a movie driven by personal turmoil and all three of the primary characters battle through it in their connections with others and within themselves. In Driver, Cop, and Killer (Johnson, Thornton, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen respectively) we have three men who are all out to do the same thing for different reasons that bear a stark contrast, yet complement each other perfectly. The movie never lulls and nothing onscreen deviates from the missions that consume these men.
Driver is out of prison and the only thing on his mind is exacting vengeance by killing the men who murdered his brother following a bank robbery they committed ten years ago. One of the targets hires Killer, a young millionaire-hit man, to take out Driver before he gets to him, and Cop is a detective nearing retirement with personal interest in Driver’s actions. Here are the female roles: Maggie Grace is “Girlfriend Who is Rarely Clothed and Can Shoot Good Too,” Killer’s girl who stands around looking hot and packs his weapons for him (This stuff is important). Moon Bloodgood is “Separated Wife Who Has a Fat Son and Can Shoot Up with Dope Good Too,” Cop’s estranged wife and former informant who has spent one or two stints in rehab. Jennifer Carpenter is “Ex-Girlfriend Who is Hot-But-Clothed and Aborts Babies,” an old flame who had some of The Rock’s strudel before he went to prison. Carla Gugino is another detective or something. See, I told you this is a guy movie.
The biggest potential criticism I can see in Faster is that the supporting characters (i.e., all of the women) are one-dimensional and lack screen time. Usually this is an indication of lazy writing and a plot that should have been more fleshed-out, but Faster is an exception. Some films have a narrative that focuses solely on a few select individuals and doesn’t need detailed side characters to add depth. Driver, Killer, and Cop are really all we need to worry about in this story and the people around them serve only to illustrate the motives that propel these men, and in Faster they do this job perfectly. I would argue that Faster gets by just fine without developing the supporting roles further and doing so would only bog this film down. Director George Tillman Jr. has created a true bullet of a movie; one that gets right to the point and never relinquishes tension.
Faster is also much more powerful and deeper than the trailers let on. It is perhaps not surprisingly light on dialogue, letting the players’ actions do much of the talking. Johnson especially conveys this type of quiet intensity. He maintains a constant scowl for almost the entire movie. It’s an expression he resorts to in all of his films and in some of those cases it can feel like he’s overacting, but not here. The character of Driver is a man who has already made all of his decisions during the time he spent in prison. He doesn’t need to talk to others much because he already has all the answers he needs. As the film progresses we find out more about the almost tragic journey that has led him to the point he is at now. Only once in a tense, emotional scene with a preacher played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, does Driver ever question his motives. The play between the two actors in this scene is beautiful to watch. Despite his life choices, there is a certain nobility to all that Driver does and I struggle to think of another actor that could pull it off with the same demeanor that Johnson carries. He will probably never be regarded as a great actor, but he is a great fit for this role in what is his finest performance to date.
Killer is equally interesting. He’s a bit of a Forrest Gump story without the low IQ. In photos of him as a kid we see that he was born disabled and wore leg braces which he is constantly reminded of by the deep scars running down his legs. Now in his mid twenties, he has become a self-made millionaire and has fine-tuned his body to the peak of human potential. He has mastered yoga, mountain climbing, sky diving, and every other endeavor he can pursue to push himself further. Everything Killer has accomplished since childhood has been to prove to himself that he is not at a disadvantage to anyone and cannot be bested at anything he sets his mind to. This mindset has consumed his existence and he is beginning to crack, suddenly having difficulty holding up to the insane pressure he puts on himself. Among his relentless hobbies, and the one that serves as a giant adrenaline dump for everything else he does, is contract killing. Killer’s methods could not be more different from Driver’s and in Driver he for the first time has found someone that is better and faster than him. He promises to his newly-minted wife that this will be his last job, which just makes him all the more adamant about excelling and earning acknowledgment for his skills.
For most of the film Billy Bob Thornton’s Cop is the least interesting of the three, but he is actually the pivotal piece in the whole thing, the man that links everything together. He is a tired officer who needs only to kick back and peacefully count down his days until retirement, but decisions from his past mean that he also has unfinished business to attend to first. This role is not much of a stretch for Thornton to handle, and like Johnson, he is the ideal man for the part. Few can play characters with questionable morals and devious intentions, yet still be sympathetic all while making you pity him quite like Thornton. My favorite scene in the film comes when Cop faces off with Driver in the dark basement of a hospital. The fear and humility Thornton brings in contrast to the unshakable confidence of Driver creates true cinematic fireworks. How Tillman Jr. cuts the action and lights the surroundings truly makes this one of the most memorable shots in recent memory for me.
Faster is one of the big surprises of the year. It won’t be making many top ten lists, but it is powerful, surprisingly deep, and unlike anything else out there. It also is evidence of what Dwayne Johnson is capable of when attached to the right role and hopefully this will be the start of better things for him. For all it does well and despite its focused approach, Faster is a still a step short of being the all-out adrenaline rush it wants to be.
Overall: 8/10
Directed by George Tillman Jr. Written by Tony and Joe Gayton. Production Design by David Lazan. Cinematography by Michael Grady. Original Music by Clint Mansell. Edited by Dirk Westervelt
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Carla Gugino, Moon Bloodgood, Maggie Grace, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
