Review of Homefront (2013) by John R — 20 Dec 2013

"Jason Statham goes against meth kingpin James Franco in a movie that should've been called Familiar Turf".

Movie Review: Homefront.

Date Viewed: November 27 2013.

Directed By Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls and Runaway Jury).

Screenplay By Sylvester Stallone, Based on the novel by Chuck Logan.

Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Frank Grillo, Omar Benson Miller, Rachelle Lefevre, Clancy Brown and Izabela Vidovic.

James Franco seemed to be in everything this year. After playing everybody from Hugh Hefner in "Lovelace", a great and powerful wizard named Oz in "Oz the Great and Powerful", a gangster-drug dealer named Alien in "Spring Breakers" and himself in "This is the End", Franco now gives another interesting performance in a dreary and familiar action thriller called "Homefront". Franco plays Gator Bodine, the biggest meth kingpin in Louisiana who is probably more dangerous than Walter White.

"Homefront" is based on a novel by Chuck Logan and was written by Sylvester Stallone. Stallone surprisingly doesn't play the lead, instead he gave the lead to his fellow "Expendables" pal Jason Statham who plays former DEA agent Phil Broker who moves into a small Louisiana town with his daughter Maddie (Izabela Vidovic) in order to escape from his troubled past.

When Maddie takes down a schoolyard bully, The bully's druggie mother named Cassie (Kate Bosworth) wants revenge on Phil and Maddie. Cassie later asks her brother Gator (Franco) to "scare off" Phil. When Phil and Maddie go horseback riding in their backyard, Gator sneaks into their house and he steals not only Phil's black cat but also a file that reveals information about Phil's past as an undercover DEA agent. Gator's messed-up biker girlfriend Sheryl (Winona Ryder), makes contact with a drug kingpin Phil put behind bars two years earlier and he orders a hit on Phil. Gator also hires a nasty psychopath (Frank Grillo) and his thugs to go after Phil and his daughter.

Director Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls and Runaway Jury) has made some good films but "Homefront" is one unpleasant movie. It is a cooked-up mess of an action thriller filled boring shootouts, foul language and predictable twists. I don't usually give out spoiler alerts in my reviews but here it is, the conclusion of the picture involves a car chase with Phil going after Gator who has kidnapped Maddie. Why couldn't writer Sylvester Stallone think of a better exciting climax than the one he had? Well, he thinks that a 10-year-old girl being kidnapped by a meth dealer behind the wheel is the only way to trigger suspense. That strategy didn't work with "White House Down" and it certainly doesn't work this time in "Homefront".

Why does Hollywood think by having a young little girl being kidnapped at the climax in an action picture is the only way to trigger suspense? Why does Hollywood keep repeating it? It's a cheap, lousy gimmick and I wish that Hollywood would stop doing it.

Jason Statham is still one of the best action stars we have right now. He has far more charisma than Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren and he still knows how to kick some butt but next time please find a script that suits you better than this and "Parker". James Franco is still a great actor. Whether he's playing Harvey Milk's lover in "Milk", Aron Ralston in "127 Hours", the stoner Saul Silver in "Pineapple Express", playing himself in "This is the End" or a terrible Oscar co-host, he's still a great talent. Sure, Winona Ryder has been out of work for a while but she is still capable of finding good movies, she was really good playing Richard Kuklinski's wife in "The Iceman" earlier this year.

Sylvester Stallone may have "Bullet to the Head", "Escape Plan", the upcoming boxing comedy "Grudge Match" and "Homefront" (which he only wrote) on his resume for 2013 but James Franco was busier than Stallone, he starred in six movies and directed three more this year alone. "Homefront" should have been called "Familiar Turf".