Homefront(Jason Statham=Good Guy, James Franco=Evil)

[Mandalorian]

Statham is a star that has reached review-proof level for me. Like Stallone, or Schwarzenegger, Statham is a guy I can watch knowing exactly what to expect and still walk away satisfied.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by RJ Smoove

Statham is a star that has reached review-proof level for me. Like Stallone, or Schwarzenegger, Statham is a guy I can watch knowing exactly what to expect and still walk away satisfied.

Agreed.

[spanky87]

Very amusing thread title. I like how the OP simplified it for us. I saw the trailer in theaters and honestly wasn't impressed. I never do Statham flicks (except Expendables), but I'll see this in theaters just for Winona Ryder. It's rare to see her in a wide release these days so I have to take what I can get.

[Tony208]

i kinda wanna see james franco as a redneck

[Tee76]

Jason Statham vs. Rednecks?? I'm in!!

[pmac]

Originally Posted by Mandalorian

Statham is a star that has reached review-proof level for me. Like Stallone, or Schwarzenegger, Statham is a guy I can watch knowing exactly what to expect and still walk away satisfied.

Absolutely. He (to me) always seems to deliver the goods as I expect him to. I'm not so sure how he would do going outside the box, but maybe time will tell.

Originally Posted by Tony208

i kinda wanna see james franco as a redneck

I'm sure he will do quite well after seeing his interpretation of a Gangsta in Spring Breakers.

Originally Posted by Tee76

Jason Statham vs. Rednecks?? I'm in!!

Jason Statham vs Godzilla, make it happen

[spanky87]

Sad to see Winona Ryder slumming it in this playing the dumbest character of her career. She did well with what she had to work with though and Kate Bosworth was hilarious. Half the film is the schlocky b movie I wanted, the other half takes itself too seriously. Movie gets ridiculously stupid in the last 20 minutes that even Franco's character had to mention how "retarded" it is.

Franco starts off hammy then kind of tones it down abit then gets crazy again towards the end.

Middling at best.

[Holmes]

Flawed, but entertaining, this will not be remembered as a high point for any of the participants in front of or behind the camera (including writer Sylvester Stallone), but it is a satisfying and swiftly paced B movie which functions as a decent showcase for its star. Jason Statham, returning to more comfortable action-hero ground after delivering a strong dramatic performance in the wonderful and undervalued crime drama Redemption earlier this year, plays an undercover policeman who retires and moves with his daughter to a farmhouse in rural Louisiana after a dangerous operation gone wrong and later the death of his wife. Their serene new start is derailed when a schoolyard fight in which his daughter is involved turns many of the town's small-minded and vicious citizens against him, including "Gator," a volatile drug dealer played by James Franco.

For people who are still fond of old-fashioned action cinema, Statham is always a pleasure to watch brood and kick, punch, shoot, and slice his way through his foes, and this is as true as ever here. The film also utilizes Louisiana for more than its production enticing tax incentives, from the beauty of an open field in the sunshine with cottonwood in the wind to the macabre atmosphere and menace of a bog at night. Two elements of the film, alas, fall short of expectations: Franco, who has proven in recent years to be a bit of a madman disinterested in conventional respectability, delivers a fairly sleepy performance and never emerges as the type of antagonistic, fierce psycho which could have elevated the overall enterprise. Also, after developing a spot-on sense of mounting dread punctuated with moments of eruptive violence, the third-act siege on the protagonist's home (a scene we know is coming because of the film's clear debt to Straw Dogs) is over far too soon, amounting to a few shots fired and a few truncated chases instead of the extended action and suspense set piece I hoped for.

I believe it would be a stronger film if the conflict remained outsider versus small-town menaces rather than tying the motorcycle gang from the prologue into the action. Jason Statham's character having extensive DEA investigation files just collecting dust in his farmhouse is an absurd contrivance, for one.

*** and 1/2 out of ***** or B

[Kevin Holly]

Good movie yo

[Pounder]

I enjoyed it. 3.5/5. Very entertaining.

[assydingo]

Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay, tends towards a down-to-earth approach to characters and themes. That straightforwardness works better in Homefront than in most of his movies. Largely because of how well the father/daughter relationship grounds the story.

Maybe it's me but Statham's character seemed to be in the background here. This change of pace allows for everyone else to have more presence. While the characters may not be terribly developed, we do get a good sense of them and the world they live in. Also the themes at play are explored pretty well. The turns in the plot develop them nicely and add humor.

I enjoyed Homefront more than the average straight-forward action movie. If I had blind bought it instead of seeing it in theater I'd be happy to own it. Probably would show it to my dad when he visited. He'd recognize a few of these characters from his own life.