Faster

Actors:  Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Oliver Jackson Cohen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Rating:  7 out of 10, I couldn’t believe I didn’t buy this movie before now.  It’s right in my wheelhouse as a great action movie.  Johnson really comes into his own as an action star and actually displays some depth.  He carries the movie with ease and it only slows down when he’s not on the screen.  He’s always had the physical presence and wry humor but there’s none of that here as he is absolutely relentless as a just released con seeking revenge against the people who murdered his brother.  The script does a good job of setting up his victims – one is a telemarketer (who hasn’t wanted to put a round or two into one of them) and a child molester.  The movie slows down considerably with Thornton’s plot line as a junkie cop and a lot of his lines seem really contrived.  I do think the movie makers tried to stretch a little too far when they included a third plot line involving a bored millionaire hit man but Grace and Cohen do it superbly.  There’s a real edge to Cohen’s sanity and you keep waiting for him to off Grace even though he’s obviously deeply in love with her.  There’s a great scene near the end with the guy who played Mr. Eko on Lost – I wonder why he doesn’t get more work – he’s great.  This was a really fun action movie that tried to get a little too cute but still has the irresistible force of Johnson’s character – Driver. 
MVP:  Johnson as the relentless Driver just chews up scenery with physical presence