Parker: a Jason Statham movie. I’ve been a
Statham fan since he first appeared in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
But so far there has been a similarity – violence – in his
films. Parker is no exception but with an excellent
supporting cast, the opening heist sequence is first rate movie
making. Unfortunately, when the story moves from the Ohio heist to
Palm Beach, the scenery improves but not the story line. The
opening heist involves five guys, including Michael Chiklis and Wendell Pierce
(“Wire” detective). After the successful heist, Parker learns
that Melander (Chiklis) wants to use the stolen money as seed money for a
bigger heist and the other three guys were already in on the
plan. Parker just wants his money. The thieves steal
Parker’s money and the rest of the film is Parker getting revenge. The
other two thieves are played by Clifton Collins and Micah Hauptman.
Nick Nolte plays the father of Parker’s girlfriend, played by Emma
Booth. But when Parker gets to Florida, we are introduced to Leslie,
played by Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer gets to show that she is still
beautiful. The character who almost steals the film is Patti
LuPone, playing Leslie’s mother. The interplay between
LuPone and Parker is excellent although it comes as a complete surprise.
The movie is directed by Taylor Hackford. The parts of this movie,
lasting 2 minutes shy of 2 hours, are better than the whole. As
with Killing Them Softly, the film after the Ohio heist has credibility
issues. But for those of you who like Statham movies, there is a
lot to enjoy.
I saw Parker at the Dole Cannery and before the film
commenced I sat through 20 minutes of bad – just awful – previews. If
Dole is going to run that many previews, I will go to Consolidated at
Ward. Both theatres play similar films. 15 minutes
should be limit on previews. The only good news about seeing those
previews is that I know there is a host of films coming out before summer that
this reviewer will not be seeing.
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