Action Movie Reviews: Homefront (2013)

Homefront (2013)
Director: Gary Fleder
Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Izabela Vidovic, Kate Bosworth, Winona Ryder
IMDB: 6.6
RT: 41
Box Office: $31.3 Million (Worldwide)

Summary-

Former DEA Agent Phil Broker has moved to a quite town in Louisiana. When he pisses off a local drug lords sister he puts his daughters and his own life at risk. 




Review(Spoilers!)-

I had wanted to see this in theaters but missed it because it wasn't out very long. This is a Sylvester Stallone written film so that should immediately tell you what kind of movie it is, a dumb and formulaic action film that is a lot of fun!

The film opens with DEA Agent Phil Broker undercover in a biker gang as they are about to make a big meth deal. The police barge in and a shootout ensues leading to the death of Jojo Turrie, the son of the drug boss. Phil Broker then storms off angrily and it cuts to the opening credits and it is assumed that he has left the force to live in peace with his daughter. This opening sequence is effective although its another film using that shaky cam look for fight scenes which I'm not crazy about.

Long-haired Statham

This is a story you have seen on film a million times, the guy who retires from a dangerous past which comes back to haunt him. There is a reason its a formula though as it is a pretty compelling story and if done correctly can make a good movie. In this case my reaction was somewhat mixed. The first act is all about Phil Broker trying to start a life in this new community with his daughter but has a hard time fitting in. His daughter beats up a kid who happens to be the nephew of the local drug boss nicknamed Gator (James Franco). The boys scary meth head mom played by Kate Bosworth goes to her brother to ask him to teach Broker some respect. This leads Gator to discover that Broker is a former DEA Agent. He then uses his girlfriend Sheryl to make a deal between with the Biker gang Broker busted at the beginning of the film. Gator will give the gang the location of Broker and in return he wants them to distribute his drugs nationwide. Through the first two acts of the film there is adequate character development and surprisingly decent performances (specifically from Franco) although the father daughter scenes are somewhat dorky.

Morgan "Gator" Bodine

The biker gang comes to the town led by Cyrus (Frank Grillo) and plans to kill Broker and his daughter. This starts off the predictably action packed finale. The bikers come to his house and there is a big action sequence. While I was not crazy about the way they filmed the action sequences the sound design was pretty great as you really feel the impact of every bunch and hear every bone crack. 

Final Thoughts-

This is exactly the type of movie you would expect it to be as it hits all the action movie tropes. That being said this film did have a certain charm to it. The casting of Franco was a good choice as he delivers a solid villain even if the character is not written particularly well and Statham is solid in the lead. If your in the mood for some mindless action entertainment this wouldn't be a bad choice but its not particularly memorable either. 

MY RATING-

3 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart