Parker

 

There's a very good 90 minute movie in the two hours or so that Parker runs.  The movie is well made, has some impressive action, and Jason Statham continues to prove himself as being one of the few current action stars worth watching.  The only things holding it back are the sometimes uneven pacing, and the overlong running time.  It's a serviceable revenge/heist story that starts out being a lot of fun, but seems to be dragging its feet a little when it should be picking up speed.

The character of Parker originated in the crime novels of author Donald Westlake.  I was surprised to learn that this is not the first time the character has been adapted.  Mel Gibson's 1999 film, Payback, was also based on one of Westlake's Parker stories, although in that film, the character's name was changed to "Porter" for some reason.  Statham assumes the role of Parker this time around, a criminal who lives by a few simple rules.  Basically, he doesn't steal from anyone who can't afford to lose what he's stealing from them.  Also, he doesn't hurt people, as long as they do as he says.  Naturally, we pretty much know the movie will be filled with people who will be willing to test that second rule, and pay the price for it.  In fact, a group of people testing that rule is what kicks the plot off.

As the film opens, Parker leads a team of five criminals in stealing one million dollars from the Ohio State Fair.  The plan goes off fairly smoothly (except some innocent people get hurt, which angers Parker, obviously), and with the job done, one of the thugs (Michael Chiklis) immediately starts talking about their next heist.  Parker wants nothing to do with it, so the other members of the team turn on him, and leave him bloodied and presumed dead on the side of a country road.  He survives the attack, breaks out of the hospital, and then turns to his mentor (Nick Nolte) and girlfriend, Claire (Emma Booth) to track down the men he once worked for, and seek revenge.  The search leads him to Palm Beach, Florida, where his former partners in crime are planning a jewelry heist.  During his search for revenge, he gets involved with a local realtor named Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), who quickly figures out Parker's past, and wants in on his job so she can get some money, and move out of her obnoxious mother's house.

It is the introduction of Jennifer Lopez's character where Parker begins to sputter somewhat.  Her motivations are sketchy at best, her character's not that interesting, and worst of all, there's really no point to her being in the film in the first place.  Parker already has a loyal girlfriend, so she doesn't get to be his love interest.  She often seems shoehorned into certain scenes, especially the climax, where she really was not needed.  There's nothing particularly wrong with Lopez's performance, mind you.  I was, however, greatly annoyed by her overbearing and stereotyped mother, who exists solely for obnoxious comic relief.  Well, she gets the obnoxious part right, at least.  The whole plot concerning Leslie and her mother could have easily been shortened with little consequence, thereby shortening the length of the film, and tightening it in the long run.

Fortunately, a lot of what goes on outside of Lopez's plot does work.  It could be argued that Jason Statham pretty much gives the same performance in every movie.  It can also be argued that it's one I haven't yet grown weary of.  He's intimidating, he pulls off the violent fight scenes incredibly well, and he has a sly sense of dark humor without losing any of his edge.  He makes Parker into an interesting antihero.  Less interesting are his former teammates who serve as the film's villains after they turn on him.  They're a rather faceless bunch of criminals, who don't possess much personality, nor does the script allow them to be all that threatening.  We know that Parker is pretty much one step ahead of them the whole time, so there's not a whole lot of tension to start with.  Statham's screen presence can only carry the film so far.  After that, there's not much for us to grab onto.

 

As an action film, I personally had more fun with last weekend's The Last Stand, but Parker is still able to deliver enough well-executed action.  It simply gets bogged down by stuff that either doesn't work, or shouldn't be there to begin with.  It's an uneven film, but I'm ultimately glad I saw it.  Give it a few extra bonus points if you're already a big fan of Statham.  If you're not, this one probably won't change your mind.

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