Film: Fast & Furious 7

Following a slight dip in form with number 6 the Furious gang return in Paul Walker’s final film and they are up against Jason Statham who plays the brother of a previous adversary who is out for revenge.

The action kicks off from the start as we are treated to an excellent battle between Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s FBI Agent. From there the fists keep flying along with extravagant car chases and big gun battles culminating in a city wide trail of destruction.

If you are a fan of the series you will love this, it even manages to close the silly time loop that excluded the Tokyo Drift movie so Lucas Black gets an appearance, albeit a cameo.

Martial-arts star Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) also appears and adds much to the already top-notch action. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker deliver their standard but always terrific turns and there is hardly time to take a breath until this instalment comes to a moving conclusion.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential 

Film: Homefront

An undercover cop (Jason Statham) retires to the country with his young daughter but the past soon catches up with him in this action thriller scripted by Sylvester Stallone.

A schoolyard dispute escalates into a family dispute and Broker (Statham)  learns that in this town these things are best put to bed as quickly as possible  so he grudgingly apologises to the parents of the other child. Unbeknown to him they have already involved the local drug dealer (James Franco) who finds out that there are some very unsavoury characters on the look out for Broker.

A wonderful supporting cast that includes Clancy Brown, Frank Grillo and Winona Ryder help elevate this above the usual action movie standard. When it all kicks off Statham cements his status as a bona fide action star but he is also competent as the doting Father. Special mention has to go to James Franco who steals the show as the menacing Gator.

With engaging characters, a real sense of dread and some excellent action scenes Homefront is a must-see for any fan of the genre.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended  

Film: The Expendables 2

Sylvester Stallone and the gang return and this time their mission is personal.

While carrying out an assignment for Mr Church (Bruce Willis) the team encounter Vilain (Jean Claude van Damme) with fatal consequences for one of them. Barney (Stallone) immediately vows vengeance and so begins the pursuit of Vilain and his feared militia.

The Expendables 2 opens with a mega-violent rescue and then goes directly into the next mission which results in the revenge scenario. No time is spent on character development and the film suffers greatly for that.

Little is seen of Statham and the first movie’s show-stealer Dolph Lundgren. In fact, with the notable exception of Van Damme (who proves he can still deliver on the big screen), there was hardly any need for the supporting cast. This felt very much like a Stallone film, which in itself is no bad thing, but the original was such a good ensemble piece that I expected more of the same.

It is pretty cool to see Bruce Willis, Big Arnie and Chuck Norris get involved in the action but all three spend most of their screen time sending themselves up, which is ok the first time, but after four or five “I’ll be back” type quotes it begins to grate.

This sequel does deliver on a strictly action level. The fight between Stallone and Van Damme is fantastic and every 80’s action film fan’s dream come true. Let’s just hope that if there is an Expendables 3 a bit more effort goes into building on the good work done in the original.

The Expendables 2 is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.         

DVD: The Mechanic

This remake of the Charles Bronson movie has Jason Statham (The Expendables) in the lead role of the Hitman, Arthur Bishop.

Bishop, aided by his sidekick Steve (Ben Foster from Alpha Dog), must turn the tables on their employer (Tony Goldwyn from Ghost) who has framed Bishop's mentor and Steve's Father Harry (Donald Sutherland from....erm...take your pick......Lock Up).

Standard action movie stuff here but Statham and Foster are fantastic and have good chemistry. Foster gets the nod for acting (very intense) while Statham shades it (just) on the action scenes.

Perfect lads night in entertainment.

Ric's Rating: 74%