In a job set up by his trusted friend and mentor, Hurley (Nick Nolte), Parker joins a group of thieves that are going to boost the take at the Ohio State Fair. The job goes relatively smooth, thanks to Parker's cool head, but when he refuses to give up his share as front money for another job, the others turn on him. With the exception of a needless flashback right in the middle of an otherwise tense scene, the setup works well enough, and there's a rare moment during the heist, when Parker calms a security officer down, that reminds us that Statham can do more than punch people.
Michael Chiklis, Clifton Collins Jr., Wendell Pierce, and Micah A. Hauptman have the thankless role of playing the bland "characters" that become the target for Parker's vengeance. It's unfortunate that Chiklis doesn't have a larger role in the film -- or the title role for that matter because he's much better suited to follow in Lee Marvin's footsteps than Statham -- but these guys are never well-defined, and basically fade into the background for much of the film.
After some bone-breaking, Parker trails the crew to Florida, where they're planning a jewel heist at a Palm Beach auction house. To avoid attention, Parker poses as a Texas oil man shopping for real estate in order to navigate through the heavily policed area. This is where he meets Leslie Rodgers (Jennifer Lopez), the unhappily divorced realtor who shuttles him around town hoping for a big commission. After some digging, however, Leslie discovers that Parker's alias is phony, and she blackmails him into cutting her in on his plan to rob the robbers and take his revenge.
The screenplay by John J. McLaughlin (Hitchcock) introduces too many side characters: Leslie's mother (Patti LuPone), a Chicago syndicate-hitman (Daniel Bernhardt), and a cop with the hots for Leslie (Bobby Cannavale), not to mention Nolte and his daughter, who doubles as Parker's girlfriend (Emma Booth). The idea that Parker is a one woman man is interesting, and it might work on the page, but it makes his scenes with Lopez fall flat.
The film was directed by Taylor Hackford, who has a multitude of hits on his resume like An Officer and a Gentleman and Ray. He really hasn't done action before and it shows. Throughout the film there were decisions that seemed like he was playing the wrong chords in a familiar song. The casting seems off, the visuals are lacking, and it doesn't really build to a satisfying conclusion.
Overall, the film starts off strong, but is unable to maintain a consistent tone, and just flat out becomes uninteresting once Parker gets to Palm Beach. Cut out the girlfriend entirely, switch the Statham and Chiklis roles, and give Parker some steam with Lopez's character. Then give the movie to anyone but Taylor Hackford to direct and you might have a winning combination.
STF Film Grade = D+
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