Homefront
It might come as a surprise to people that this film, based on a novel by Chuck Logan, boasts a screenplay by none other than Sylvester Stallone. When I first saw that credit, it definitely surprised me, mainly because Stallone is not starring in it. I’m not surprised to learn that he had originally written it for himself when he was younger, but has now resurrected it for his “Expendables” friend, Jason Statham. It’s a good fit. And in the end, it’s a good movie, as well, although the direction by Gary Fleder (“Kiss the Girls,” “Don’t Say a Word”) assures that it won’t be anything more than that.
The film stars Statham as Phil Broker, a former DEA agent who quits after going deep undercover to capture a major Louisiana meth distributor, which also resulted in said distributor’s son getting killed by the cops. The main guy (Chuck Zito) is rotting away in prison, and wants revenge. After Broker’s daughter (Izabela Vidovic, very good in the role) gets into an altercation with a classmate whose parents (Kate Bosworth and Marcus Hester) believe in the Old South notion of fueds and getting even, Phil finds he and his daughter on the radars of everyone from the town’s sherriff (Clancy Brown) to Bosworth’s brother (James Franco), who is a small-time meth dealer looking to get up to the big leagues. Handing Broker to his biggest enemy on a silver platter, with the help of Franco’s strung-out girlfriend (Winona Ryder), is a way in for him. But he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with, and frankly, neither does anyone else in town.
Stallone’s script is by-the-numbers action writing and it’s least interesting. It’s not bad, but it’s far from a memorable story and from a storytelling standpoint, it’s very basic. Thankfully, the performances help elevate it to average escapist entertainment, starting with Statham and Vidovic, who have very good chemistry as father and daughter, and ending with Franco (doing another over-the-top characterization, though hardly as noteworthy as his triumphant, risky work in “Spring Breakers” earlier this year) and Ryder, who is enjoying going way against type, and has some good scenes with Franco. Thanks to those four, “Homefront” has a few things worth writing home about. Not much, but it’s enough.
