Homefront
DIRECTOR: Gary Fleder, SCREENPLAY BY: Sylvester Stallone, BASED ON: 'Homefront' BY: Chuck Logan, STARRING: Jason Statham, Kate Bosworth, James Franco, RUN TIME: 100 minutes, RELEASE: 2013
Phil Broker (Jason Statham) is a former DEA agent who has gone through a crisis after his action against a biker gang went horribly wrong and it cost the life of his boss' son. He is recently widowed and is left with a 9-years-old daughter, Maddy (Izabela Vidovic). He decides to quit the turbulent and demanding life of thrill for Maddy's sake and retires to a small town. His daughter fights off a boy who was bullying her at school and this sets in motion a round of events that end in his direct confrontation with the local Meth drug lord. His past history with the biker gang also enters the arena, making matters more complex. But he has a mission in his mind to protect his daughter, and he is ready to pay any cost that it demands
There is a compulsion running through my home and that is the need to watch every film that Jason Statham is in. I don't understand why but, it is what it is. Don't get me wrong, his films certainly are not Oscar worthy but, there is something about them that I find really enjoyable. Sure, some of them are absolute stinkers, some of them are cheesy as hell, some of them are so-so and others are actually pretty good. Regardless of all this, Statham is always as cool as anything. He has such great screen presence. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to watching this.
'Homefront' actually turned out to be one of the better ones. Although it is - typically - entirely predictable, I really liked how it was played out. There are the obvious cheesy moments (the opening scene was a bit naff to be honest) but, not nearly as much as I am used to seeing. 'Homeland' was far more subdued than some of Statham's other films and had a bit more heart to it. There were the required action scenes but, again except for the opening scene, it never really dived into the 'over-the-top' category. 'Homefront' remained pretty reserved in its pacing from start to finish and it never tries to dazzle you too much with overly-dramatic action sequences. I could feel Stallone's influence throughout the script.
Mostly, the casting is good. There are, of course, the usual clunkers that you'd expect but, that are fortunately shadowed by the main cast. Statham is as good as he is always. He is so quietly cool in everything that he does. There is just something about him as an actor that really holds my attention. Lately, there seems to be such a high class of child actors. To that end, Izabela Vidovic is certainly no exception. She gives a brilliantly natural performance as Broker's daughter, Maddy. She really does hold her own against the adult actors and actresses and has a certain great line that she pulls off perfectly. I see big things for her future and I hope that she gets the credit that she deserves. Kate Bosworth returns to redneck category that she previously dabbled in, in 'Straw Dogs' (2011) and produces another fine performance as Cassie, the obnoxious and gobby crack whore sister of the main protagonist, 'Gator' Bodine. On that note, James Franco is fantastic in the role of Bodine. His performance is wonderfully cocky, cool, red neck, cold and strong. This is one of his best performances for me.
Overall, this is a great little film. It has a really family based story to it and hits all the right notes with a fine balance of action, thrills and drama. If you are a Statham fan you should really give this one a look. If you are not, then you should really give this one a look. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.