Parker

First Hit:  Direct, no surprises and not very entertaining.

There isn’t much of a point to the film besides, don’t double-cross Parker (Jason Statham). If you do you’ll get yours – because he always does what he says he’s going to do.

Hurley (Nick Nolte) is his girlfriend Claire’s (Emma Booth) father. Hurley sets up a robbery job for Parker with guys he’s worked with in the past. However, these guys, led by Melander (Michael Chiklis) double-cross Parker and attempt to kill him. Thinking that Parker is dead, they go on about their business.

However, Parker is not dead and heads to Miami to deliver pay-back. There he meets a real estate agent named Leslie (played by Jennifer Lopez). Overall, the film might have worked better without Leslie’s part, because she didn’t bring much added value (except maybe box office draw and maybe some humanitarian actions by Parker) to the overall film.

The best part of the film, for me, was the interaction between Parker and Claire. There was a sweetness and hopefulness that made their relationship work.

Statham did what he does best, play rough and determined. The occasions of compassion towards Lopez and Booth were nice. Nolte feels like he’s not embodied a character in anything recently including this film. He’s saying lines in his gruff way, but there is no depth to his acting which he was great at doing early in his career. Booth was exquisite and one of the better aspects of the film – I enjoyed watching her and her expressions. Chiklis was alright as the double crossing thief. Lopez was good in an unnecessary role. She does well on the screen but I found her character distracting from the point of the film. John J. McLaughlin wrote a mediocre screenplay. Taylor Hackford directed some good action sequences, but the overall film didn’t hold together really well.

Overall: If you like Statham this is his typical kind of film and it is OK and not great as an action film.

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