Parker
We have already been somewhat critical of a couple of action films as our search for the Worst Films of 2013 is underway.
Sadly, and action/heist film is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons today as Parker is in at number eight.
The movie is based on Flashfire, the 19th parker novel by Donald Westlake, and saw Taylor Hackford in the director's chair.
Parker (Statham), is a hardened professional criminal who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, living by his own code of ethics - don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it.
However, when he’s double-crossed by his crew and left for dead, it’s time for payback.
Now I love a bit of the Stath, but I really do wish he would stop making these rubbish movies; what he ever saw in this screenplay is a bit of a mystery.
Statham is always quite a presence when he is on screen, but there is nothing here for him to really get his teeth into. Sometimes you just feel that he is going through the action motions - which is a bit of a shame.
Parker is just one of those movies that disappointed more than anything, as the trailer really did make is seem that this was going to be an action packed ride.
There is no doubt that film has its moments - particularly at the beginning - but it just fizzles out.
Perhaps if they have concentrated more on the character of Parker and really fleshed him out, rather than trying to make him part of a duo, this movie would have had more success.
Jennifer Lopez does the best with what she is given, but you feel that she is really only there to try and interest a female demographic to this genre.
There is chemistry between Statham and Lopez, but this partnership - like most things in this film - is not used to full effect; I would have actually liked to see them share more screen time.
Parker really is a movie that just descends into chaos as Hackford loses control of the story. This film could have been the birth of a new action hero and you really do feel that this is an opportunity missed.