Faster (2010 film)

Plot

Driver is being released from prison after talking to the warden who tells him he should be a better person. He exits curtly, breaks into a run, seemingly set on something. He runs until he retrieves his Chevelle LS5 SS; he then drives to an office in Bakersfield where he kills a man.

Driver then goes to the man who gave him the car and the gun and forces him to give him the names and info for the rest of some list he compiled for Driver. Meanwhile, Driver is being tracked down by detective Cicero and Cop, a detective on the verge of retirement whose life is off track due to a debilitating heroin addiction. They investigate the office crime scene and video from the scene. Cicero gets a break in the case when she recognizes Driver. Later, a nameless hitman "Killer" is hired to kill Driver. Killer tells his girlfriend Lily that it is his last job, and while he seems to feel the conflict between his professional life and love life with Lily, he decides to go.

Later, Driver heads to the second name on his list. It is an old man who films his own personal snuff films, and he is in the middle of filming himself taking advantage of a girl he drugged when Driver busts in the door and shoots him dead. Killer has tracked down Driver and initiates a gun fight in the hallway, but Driver escapes. This affects Killer philosophically, who proposes to his girlfriend and takes the case personally.

It is revealed that Cop has a drug problem, as does his estranged wife Marina. Cop and Detective are investigating Drivers past and discover he was double crossed. Cicero remembered Driver from a video of his brother Garys death, filmed by the man Driver has just killed. On tape, Driver is shot in the head by an unidentified man, but narrowly survives, needing surgery and a metal plate to fix his skull.

Driver goes to his old girlfriends house. She knows hes killing the people in the video and, after revealing she aborted their unborn child and has begun a new life, she tells him she hopes he succeeds. Driver then goes to Nevada to kill the man who slit his brother Garys throat. That man works as a bouncer in a strip club, and due to security, Driver cant bring his gun inside, so instead he stabs him several times with an ice pick and leaves him to die in the bathroom. Soon, both Cop and Killer get word that the man survived the stabbing and is in the hospital. Knowing Driver will go back to finish him off, they converge on the place.

Driver enters the hospital and kills the man when he is in surgery. Cop attempts to bring down Driver but is unsuccessful, however Driver spares his life after seeing his badge. While driving away from the hospital, Driver encounters Killer. After a high speed chase on the freeway, Killer manages to shoot Driver in the neck after Driver shoots out his tires.

Driver goes to the second-to-last name on the list, who turns out to be his father. He believed that his father was the one who arranged to have him and his half-brother Gary killed, after they refused to give him a share of the money they stole in a bank job they pulled together. He finds out that his father died years before, and his mother stitches the gunshot wound on his neck before he sets off to finish the list. Gary was his fathers son from a previous marriage. The last man is a traveling evangelist, and after his service is over and everyone has left, Driver confronts him. The evangelist knows why he is there, and tries to tell him that he has turned his life around, begging for forgiveness. Driver spares him and goes to leave when he is confronted by Killer.

Detective Cicero learns the true identity of the man who shot Driver. She hurries to the church with Cop already on the scene. Killer tells Driver to pick up his gun so they can have a true test of skill. But Driver declines, saying he has no fight with him. Killer then explains he wanted to be better since he could not walk when he was a child.

Cop walks in and shoots Driver in the head. It is revealed that Cop was the man who shot Driver in the video. He gives Killer the money for the job - a single dollar, the price Killer asked. Killer declines, because he wasnt the one who killed him. Killer then departs, telling Cop never to contact him again, likely signifying the end of his career as an assassin. He calls his wife, telling her that he is coming home. Cop calls his girlfriend, telling her that they will be okay because he closed the case and how he has been reading up on women. It is revealed in pieces that the Cops wife Marina was Garys girlfriend and a C.I for the Cop at the time of the robbery, and let the info slip about the bank job and the Cop then put together the crew to take out Gary and Driver. Suddenly, he is shot by Driver, who survived the shot due to the metal plate in his skull.

Detective Cicero arrives on the scene after Driver has already left and finds Cops body. She decides to cover up Cops involvement in the whole mess, presumably to allow his family to receive his benefits and retain some sort of dignity. The movie ends with Driver scattering his brothers ashes in the sea and driving off into the sunset as the avenging spirit of his brother Gary; simultaneously, the Evangelist begins a sermon on the topic of forgiveness, as Drivers mercy gave him a second chance at life and unburdened his spirit from the crimes that were committed 10 years ago. Short Change Hero can be heard as the credits play.

Cast

Production

Variety reported in May 2009 that Dwayne Johnson was in final negotiations for his role and that Phil Joanou would be directing. That September it was reported that Joanou had dropped out and George Tillman, Jr. would direct. Salma Hayek was considered for the role of Cicero, but a week before filming was started and she dropped out due to "scheduling issues". Hayek was replaced by Carla Gugino. Principal photography began on February 8, 2010, in Los Angeles, California and continued in Pasadena and Santa Clarita in California.

Release

The film grossed $12,200,000 over the five day Thanksgiving release. It stayed in theaters until February 10, 2011. The film ultimately grossed $35,626,958 worldwide. The film was produced on a $24 million budget. It was released on video on March 1, 2011, and it grossed another $17.3 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales in the US.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 43% of 108 critics have given the film a positive review; the rating average is 4.9 out of 10. The sites consensus reads: "Its good to see Dwayne Johnson back in full-throttle action mode, but Faster doesnt deliver enough of the high-octane thrills promised by its title." It holds a Metacritic score of 44 out of 100.

Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Rotate the plot, change the period, spruce up the dialogue, and this could have been a hard boiled 1940s noir. But it doesnt pause for fine touches and efficiently delivers action for an audience that likes one-course meals".