Billy Bob Thornton and Dwayne Johnson starred together in a 2010 action movie that remains underrated and deserves more recognition. This was before Johnson’s breakout in the Fast & Furious franchise, but after he had already taken on action roles in genre movies. Thornton was turning into more of a character actor by this time.
In 2010, the two men teamed up in a crime thriller about a man on a murderous path of vengeance and the police officer who is trying to stop him. However, while the 2010 release gave action movie fans all they could want in a genre flick, it received poor reviews and ended up disappearing quickly, remaining an underrated movie.
Faster Stars Billy Bob Thornton & Dwayne Johnson
Faster starred Dwayne Johnson as Jimmy Cullen, a small-time criminal who gets out of prison and sets out to avenge his brother’s murder. When he starts to kill everyone involved in the murder, including those responsible for filming it, he finds two police officers (Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino) on his tail.
On top of Det. Humphries (Thornton), Cullen also has a killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) hired to kill him before he reaches the end of his list. While Cullen has a list of names, he doesn’t know who pulled the trigger, and that was the mystery that played at the core of the movie.
The film had a great supporting cast, including Maggie Grace, Moon Bloodgood, Tom Berenger, Mike Epps, Xander Berkeley, and Jennifer Carpenter. Anyone wanting to see a fast-paced revenge flick won’t find many better in the 2000s, yet critics were lukewarm.
Faster Is Better Than Critics Gave It Credit For
Faster received mostly negative reviews, with a 41% Rotten Tomatoes score. Although the audience score was only slightly higher, at 52%, the movie deserves significantly more credit as a solid action film. During the time that Dwayne Johnson was making his name as an action star, it remains a solid entry in his filmography.
Jason Statham was also making his name with action movies at this time, and also mainly getting negative reviews. In Faster, Johnson released a throwback revenge flick with a 70s feel that delivered what it promised. There is a place for genre movies, and Faster is a film that knows what it is and delivers great action for genre fans.
If anything, Faster showed that Dwayne Johnson was ready to step into the big time, which he did with his very next movie, Fast Five. Since that time, Johnson has become a mᴀssive action star, and this film signaled that it was time he stepped out of WWE’s shadow.
Faster also showed a nice contrast between Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton. While Johnson was violent and hellbent on revenge, Thornton seemed weary and beaten down, and that led to the movie’s best twist. While underappreciated and slightly obscure, Faster is a movie that deserves a better reputation.
