We know Dwayne Johnson as everybody’s darling, as a hero and figurehead. Sure, when he’s killing off bad guys, he’s a bit over the top – but even when he sips his house tequila on the red carpet at the premiere of a family film, it hardly scratches his clean image. You just can’t be angry with the Samoan radiant man. In 2011 he proved that he can also be evil with “Faster”, which was his only film – apart from “Doom” – and it was not for nothing that the FSK released it for those aged 18 and over.
However, while the video game adaptation from 2005 makes it impressively clear that a high age rating does not make a good film, the revenge tearer brings with it plenty of show values that you can convince yourself of tonight: Sat.1 shows “Faster” on August 21, 2022 from 11 p.m. This may not be the best slot for film fans who have to get up early on Mondays. However, the advantage of the late-evening broadcast is that the film can also be shown completely uncut. Those who want to save themselves commercial breaks will find what they are looking for on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
» “Faster” on Amazon Prime Video*
By the way, it’s worth taking a look not only for fans of Dwayne Johnson, but above all for friends of ice-cold revenge rippers and tough one-man armies who crush everything and everyone who gets in their way.
The film lives up to its title right from the start. When the protagonist (Dwayne Johnson), known only as “Driver,” is released from prison in the middle of nowhere, runs to the nearest town where his set of wheels is waiting for him, and then sprints at top speed to his first destination on his list, it could actually hardly more quickly walk.
The reason for all this: ten years ago he had to watch how brutal gangsters murdered his bank robbers and finally his brother. While the murderers remained free, the petty crook went behind bars. Back in freedom, he now has only one goal: revenge. Not only a persistent law enforcement officer (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Carla Gugino) want to thwart his plans, but also a notorious professional killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen)…
While the trailer for “Faster” promises a lot of shooting, snappy jokes, fast cars and beautiful women, the supposed brain-out actioner turns out to be a thoroughly dark and intense revenge thriller. Sure, the coolness factor is already there because of Dwayne Johnson and there is no stinginess with fast-paced action scenes either, but in the end director George Tillman Jr. (“The Hate U Give”) delivers less action fireworks with “Faster”, but rather rock-solid crime-and-punishment entertainment.
Not least because of the quite predictable final chapter, the film doesn’t stand out too much from the genre mob in the end, but the Dwayne Johnson thriller is still a good choice for a rough-straight action-thriller evening.
*The link to the Amazon offer is a so-called affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.
This is a re-release of an article previously published on DashFUN.
