Let me begin by saying that I am a big Jason Statham fan. But when I got out of the multiplex after the movie, to my surprise, I was the only one of my friends who wasn’t elated after the one and half hour experience. After wasting my precious time on thinking about this and losing a few assignment marks, I came to the conclusion that there are two types of people who showed up for the movie, those who wanted more of Statham, and those who wanted more from Statham. Clearly I am from the second category.
Homefront is a movie that packs a punch when it comes to action. It has some really well-crafted fight sequences. Yes, you can’t get that wrong with Statham, as there are some scenes that literally make you jump from your seat. It has an interesting cast with Franco and Statham together. Izabela Vidovic flawlessly plays her part as the young daughter of Phil Broker (Statham).
Despite this, the story let me down. An undercover cop moves to laidback town with his daughter after a stint of his with Narco-Biker gang goes askew. The gang leader, who gets arrested, wants Phil dead. Meanwhile in the town Phil manages to build a bad reputation for himself and catches the attention of Gator (Franco). Gator is the local meth cook wants to go the “Heisenberg way” by expanding his distribution. He plans to offer the location of Phil to the gang leader in turn for a favor. What seems like a possibly interesting plot turns out to be thin. The movie droops at moments when you start guessing what will happen next. The second problem is the length. If the movie is riding on the action scenes, it’d be great to not lose interest in between.
So to sum it up, the movie doesn’t leave a lasting impact or prove to be on par with Statham’s earlier movies (like Transporter, which easily translated into series). But there are bits and pieces of it that will satisfy your craving for some action. Watch it for Statham/Franco if you are a fan, or for the action scenes, but do not keep your expectations high or you shall come out the hall with a feeling of emptiness like me.
Grade: B
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