Homefront (**½)

Directed by: Gary Fleder

Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Frank Grillo, Rachelle Levefre, Izabela Vidovoc, Clancy Brown, Omar Benson Miller, Marcus Hester

Seen: December 15^th 2013

**½ Out of ****

Jason Statham’s movies generally follow a specific mould (which I usually enjoy quite a bit), and Homefront is only a slight deviation from it, opting for slightly more drama and tension than his usual all-action movies. That is not to say that there’s no action here, but it is definitely toned down a bit, since the movie leans more towards thriller than action. Do not fear however, as Statham still gets to show off his considerable action skills in some fist and gun fights, but the movie does take things a bit slower.

Phil Broker (Statham) is retired from the DEA and he decides to take his daughter Maddy (Vidovic) to a small town which he hopes is a quiet place where he can get away from the violence and business of the city. At first things look up, as Phil gets along with Maddy’s new teacher Susan (Lefevre) pretty well, but his paranoia soon lands him in trouble as Maddy applies some of her father-taught self-defence skills and injures a bully at school. The bully’s parents are the weak Jimmy (Hester) and the obsessively controlling and obviously drug addicted Cassie (Bosworth, thinner than ever before, terribly so), and when Phil comes to school to pick up Maddy things between him and Teddy’s parents turn ugly. Cassie’s brother is the local crime boss and meth dealer Gator (Franco), and she insists that he put Phil in his place after Phil “humiliated” Jimmy in front of his son. Things get ugly rather quickly, as eventually more than just the local situation comes down on Phil when Gator’s girlfriend Sheryl (Ryder) informs on him to a criminal group that he previously had a run in with as DEA agent.

The action in the movie is relatively serviceable, but it doesn’t really bring much new to the table. Jason Statham, in addition to his role as prime ass kicker, plays the fatherly role quite well, while the trio of Franco, Ryder, and Bosworth make for some annoying and intense opposition. Homefront is not very memorable, but while watching, it does what it’s supposed to do – entertain for a while. If you’re into Jason Statham movies, this one, even with its toned down plot (in relation to other Statham movies), will be just what you go to the cinema for.