Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden,
James Logan, Joshua Bridgewater, John McConnell | Written by Richard Wenk & Lewis John Carlino
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 88 minutes | Directed by Simon West
Fights, double crosses, explosions, violence with household ornaments as well as weaponry, athletic jumping off roofs and smashing through windows, smart cars piling into one another, murder by suffocation and strangulation, bloodletting, chases, shootings and even carjacking are all present and accounted for in this formulaic thriller.
Statham is the swarthy hero, handling the action scenes well as he takes Foster under his wing to teach him the ropes of being a hitman. The young buck is out for revenge for the killing of his dad (Sutherland, star billing for only two scenes), little knowing that his mentor is the culprit, hired by sophisticated nasty Goldwyn.
The twists and turns in the plot are perfunctory and would be too tedious to explain here but the editing is sharp enough to keep one engaged and it moves along at a fair clip. Statham's growly mutterings could have more variety but he's a solid lead.
It's a remake of an old Charles Bronson movie (director Michael Winner), but whereas downbeat endings were de rigueur in the '70s that's not allowable in today's Hollywood. A more positive finish is rendered for this new version. It does exactly what it says on the tin. No more, no less. Empty and vapid, but proficiently done if you're in an undemanding mood.
EXTRAS ★★ Just some deleted scenes (11:59); the featurette Tools of the Trade: Inside The Action (16:46); and the theatrical trailer.