Review of Homefront (2013) by Michelle M — 09 Dec 2013

Homefront: Jason Statham's Blaze of Stupid.

A common understanding exists that there is a time and a place for everything, including trite action movies. If the adrenalin rush happens to include Jason Statham, the Guy Ritchie protégé who stars in three Transporter films and soon to be three Expandable movies (yes brace yourself a third is due out next year), audiences tend to line up despite the lack of ingenuity. As Ridley Scott and James Cameron have demonstrated action movies can be tremendously entertaining and cinematically relevant, but this rarely happens and that's a shame.

In Statham's new film Homefront, directed by Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls, Runaway Jury) and written by Sylvester Stallone, one does not expect great things, but with its strong cast (Wynona Ryder, James Franco, Kate Bosworth) one can only hope. The first scene in Homefront dashes those hopes pretty quickly, as a motorcycle gang rides into town, meth in tow only to be halted by a very "America Fuck Yeah" DEA. A blood bath inevitably ensues, the bad guy's either die or go to jail, and Phil Broker (Statham), a DEA agent working undercover, rides out in a blemished blaze of glory. When the meth score does not go as he had hoped, Broker starts a new life with his daughter in rural Louisiana. As everyone's mother can tell you, the universe does not supply running shoes for problems and Statham's past plays ketchup.

When Brokers daughter gets picked on at school she does what daddy does, fights back and throws a mean punch. Turns out she punched the wrong kid, in the wrong town, with the wrong uncle (Franco), who sets out to undermine Broker by terrorizing he and his daughter. Uncle Gator is not your typical country bumpkin, but a semi-sophisticated meth producer who, aside from terrorizing young meth heads and slamming some back door into his girlfriend (Ryder), does his homework. Uncle Gator alerts his cronies to Brokers previous employer and mayhem ensues.

Image.

Broker has no intention of leaving the Louisiana backwoods and is prepared at every moment-a little too prepared for even the slightest realist. The audience cheered every time Stathem threw a punch, I guess this is their Real Housewives? Like Housewives the plot is plastic but actually less thrilling than the time Kim and Nene threw down after a bus tour to promote Kim's new single "Don't Be Tardy for the Party." The moment Homefront begins we know how it will end, and with action sequences poised slightly better than West Side Story, this is a dance replicated by many- Homfront's formula follows all the reliable actions beats. With a recent look at the box office it's fair to say movie goers like a good old fashioned kick in the balls, but that is what summer is for and with Thanksgiving opening weekend upon us, we expect more, at least we should.

The great action movies including, Alien, Terminator 2, Mad Max and Raiders of the Lost Arch, all had striking visual effects with themes that questioned man's moral center, Homefront doesn't really question anything and why should it? Bad guys are bad and good guys are good-end of discussion. Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford would not touch this film, but Franco and Ryder have. Franco loves ironic froth (Spring Breakers, General Hospital) but no froth here, just stale moonshine. If Ryder wants to revitalize her career she should continue to choose small roles (Black Swan) in better films.

@MeMontgom.