User reviews

Many people say the same things about Jason Statham, He's a typecast or he doesn't do anything different. Which is partly true, but he is good as an action star and in my opinion hes a better actor than what some say. I don't think he does get enough credit seeing how he got into movies almost by accident.

Anyways Parker has a good revenge/crime story its about a professional thief who lives by a simple code, don't steal from people who can't afford it and don't hurt people who don't deserve it. After a successful heist our man is left for dead by his partners. The movie has good action throughout. lots of hand to hand combat, and violent ones at that. It also has a better than usual cast and director for a statham action movie (Good villains + hot leading lady).

Overall, I got what I was expecting for $10 as a fan of Jason Statham and would recommend it for a good popcorn flick.

7/10

While I wasn't aware there was already a "Parker" character (in books that is), I was more drawn to the movie because of the director. Taylor Hackford has done some extraordinary work. Be it "Officer and Gentleman", "Devil's Advocate" or my personal favorite "Blood in Blood out". But you can't compare this to any of those movies of course. I was however surprised seeing him working with Jason Statham. A man more known for his action filled roles.

And while this might not be one of the better works of Hackford, it still is good action cinema. Michael Chiklis has been better though, although he doesn't get much to play with here. Jennifer Lopez gets to play in a good movie too for once (after U-Turn and Out of Sight), but don't expect to see too much of her here. This is the Statham show and that is pretty obvious.

A Taylor Hackford film, starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. The story revolves around Statham's character, the eponymous Parker, who's a high level thief, much sought after in the criminal underworld for his cool demeanour and ability to think on his feet. But then a job goes sideways and he's betrayed by his supposed partners in crime. He survives and vows revenge.

It's not the most complicated plot ever, but it has its basic building blocks in a neat row and knows what it's doing. A film like this is pretty much destined to the B movie pin, but there's something to be said about the charisma of Jason Statham. And J.Lo, for that matter.

What's most enjoyable about this film is its heist hijinks. Whenever Parker is smooth talking his way through red tape or conning people into doing whatever he wants, the film soars. Whenever it's doing anything else, it's pretty banal. J.Lo's character is admiringly grounded and you get her blight. But at the same time, she's perhaps too grounded for the film's style. If you catch my drift. I'd much rather see this type of character in a psychological crime drama or something like that.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the film. A good film to check out if you're a fan of Statham or lighthearted heist films. And if you're not, it's still a pretty slick experience.

I wanted to like this movie so much, because I really think Jason Statham has some serious acting skills and he deserves some good scripts. Also the story is based on a book, so it should have been good.

Alas, it was not to be. And it has almost nothing to do with J-Lo being in the movie. The characters are bland, illogical in almost everything they do, even Parker, the Statham's character. Worst than that: they are unsympathetic. You have a lot of greedy people, some of them evil, some of them stupid, and apart from them is Parker, who is not greedy, just stupid. He puts everybody at risk for his own principles, he gets beat up and shot a few times and somehow he still walks. It's like Crank, but without anything fun in it.

I have to say I am a fan of Michael Chiklis, from Vegas, but his role was small and two dimensional. One dimensional, really, but I was going with the cardboard metaphor. You wanna know who was the most clear cut character, the one that did the job and was consistent? Daniel Bernhardt in the role of the Mafia killing machine.

So, bottom line: a waste of time and of good actors.

Parker (Jason Statham) is a thief with codes to live by. He is left for dead by his cohorts in crime when he refuses to join them for another heist. He vows to go after them and get what is his.

Seems that some big stars want to hitch their wagon to a profitable venture such as any Jason Statham movie. Here we have Jennifer Lopez doing that and when I first saw her name associated with this I knew 2-things: She would get a lot of screen time and many, many lines too. Okay, 3-three things: this won't be as good as other Jason Statham movies. I was in cringeville. And, then I watched the movie and was wrong, wrong, wrong. She did good. Who knew?

However, there was a difference with this movie. Most of the time Mr Statham's character goes about his business cutting down the bad guys without any real complication, but in here he meets his match with some bad guys who kind of beat the hell out of him. He still wins, but it's not easy. Some of the fight scenes were too real for me and I had to check myself into the local ER to make sure all was okay. I am fine. Thanks for asking.

Add to the beatings, we have Leslie (Jennifer Lopez) getting in the way of Parker's plan to take out the bad guys. Okay, we knew something like this would happen and we cringed for a bit, but we were pleasantly surprised that she did good. Who knew?

All in all a good action thriller as we would expect from any Jason Statham movie even with a star who hitched her wagon to a profitable venture…..but did good. Who knew? Nick Nolte and Michael Chiklis also star.

Will we see other big stars hitch their wagon to other successful ventures: Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, Arnold (hey, is he back?), Sylvester? Time will tell. We can only hope the scripts will be as good as this one was. Kudos. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes, briefly, 2-times.. Language: Yes, not much.

Of course, similar events - revenge after double-crossing - have been depicted several times and will definitely be depicted in the future as well - but it is the direction and choice of actors that counts. As for Parker, everything is at least okay with those: the director Taylor Hackford is an accredited creator and names like Jason Statham, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Lopez are certain signs of quality and non-boredom. They are pleasant to follow even in less interesting and less veracious scenes.

Well, the script is probably the weakest part of the movie: too much predictability, excessive sections (e.g. Parker-Claire, prolonging the duration to almost 2 hour 15 minutes) and trivial ending (unlike in movies by Guy Ritchie, for example).

Nevertheless, Parker is still an above-average A-movie, qualifying well for a sociable entertainment.

Parker, a.k.a. "Every other Jason Statham film ever...but this time with a ten gallon". I won't be going in a detailed review, because if you've seen one Jason Statham flick you've seen every Jason Statham flick. Don't believe me? Here are some common trends I've noticed across his other films also present in this one: 1. Obligatory scene where he runs away from the hospital, minutes after waking up from being shot, beaten and/or mauled by a bear - check. 2. Semi-anonymous protagonist that is just a ridiculous badass for no apparent reason - check. 3. Whatever dubious activities he takes part in are explained to the viewer as honorable in a "everyone gets dirty" kind of way, because you know, JS has a code he adheres to and that automatically makes crime acceptable - check. 4. Women are magnetically compelled to his junk by his mere presence - check. Fast and fancy cars, because. (No I didn't forget the rest of the sentence) - check. 5.Walking around seemingly unfazed with broken appendages, ribs, collar bones, multiple gunshot wounds, knife stabbing wounds and/or bear mace - check.

All and all it's an okayish film, if you've never seen another Jason Statham flick before, but at this point it's just stupid to keep casting him in the same role, in the same film, over and over. It's obvious he's not a brilliant actor, but he has a lot more to offer than what is currently being churned out. Speaking of acting don't get me started on Jeniffer Lopez - her acting is just wince-inducing. Apparently the director thought the same and cast her in the film as a walking butt to centre shots around in the time Jason is off screen, presumably to make JS' male fans feel less awkward and have an excuse about having an erection throughout the movie, because we all know how unsure of themselves "bros" are.

It's a completely forgettable film you will probably regret paying actual real world money to see, because you will feel like you've seen this film at least 4 other times.

As a fan of Donald Westlake's writing -- he did the Parker books under the pseudonym of Richard Stark -- I have long been bemused by the inability of film makers to adapt his work for the screen. Westlake wrote for the screen himself, and the Parker books are nothing but action and plot. Yes, there's character, but you figure it out from what Parker and his associates do.

With this, the fourth attempt to film a Parker novel, the film makers have found a practical if surprising choice for the title role. Jason Statham is not an actor of great oratorical powers, but he is a great physical actor, and he moves constantly like an angry tiger in a cage. The choice of a caper which is set largely in Palm Beach, with its artificial, pointless display of wealth and no other reason for existence is the perfect backdrop for the ferocity of Parker in his battle with Michael Chiklis' Melander; Jennifer Lopez' clueless Leslie, who gets caught up without understanding what is going on, gives the audience a good point of view.

Director Taylor Hackford is not a great director, but he is a highly competent one. Sixty years ago he would have been a major director for a studio, setting and working in the house style. Give him a story he can work with and he will hit all the notes, efficiently and effectively, and he has done so here. If the Parker of this movie is different from the Parker of the books, a bit more philosophical (although it comes down, in the end, to the tigerish "Do what I tell you and I will devour you last") we need to remember that a movie is not a book. This is not Donald Westlake's Parker, nor even the Parker I see when I read the books. However, it's still a very good one and worth your attention.

Parker has existed as a movie character for quite some time now, just never as his proper name. Donald E. Westlake's famous anti-hero has been in many movies ranging from Point Blank (Walker) to Payback (Porter), with a few others in between. And, honestly, you're better off with any one of those as this is a very lazily-produced potboiler.

Jason Statham is the now English Parker who has been betrayed by his latest criminal cohorts and left for dead, so far so familiar. Quickly regaining his strength he sets about exacting his payback (!) by usurping them on their next jewel heist down in Florida, recruiting desperate real estate agent Leslie (Jennifer Lopez) along the way. The action is exciting and well done, and the movie is fun, but...wow...does it look terrible.

Adapted from Westlake's novel Flashfire and directed by Mr. Helen Mirren (Taylor Hackford, a veteran filmmaker who should know better) you'd be forgiven for refusing to believe that this cost $35,000,000. Where did that money go? It's not up on screen. Shot in 5K resolution but then edited in 2K, thus losing 60% of the detail in the process (why???) this movie is filled with harsh color boosting and hard contrast. The aerial shots of sunny Florida look like they were shot in 144p. It really is the ugliest mainstream movie I have seen in the past decade.

It seems that since the advent of digital cinematography that production standards have suffered. Shooting digitally tightens the schedule as less time is needed between takes. There's no more loading, cutting, and printing, and this removes vital down-time that would otherwise be used to enhance the production value. For example, there is a scene where Jennifer Lopez is checking out Jason Statham's ass and is hungry for him. All I saw was an actor wearing a crushed suit that he appeared to have slept in. They didn't even bother ironing it! Imagine if they got that lazy with James Bond.

Parker looks like they just chucked the camera down, shot the scene with absolutely zero thought given to atmosphere or composition, and then quickly moved on to the next one. Look at Payback from 1998. The original cut of that movie looked very noir, while the 2006 "Straight Up" cut with different filters and lighting looked like a gritty 70s thriller. Any random episode of Neighbours or Home and Away looks better than Parker. An extremely poor effort that spoils the whole movie. It's simply not pleasant to look at.

It's so strange that Jennifer Lopez is the best thing in this, easily outshining the actress/character who is playing Parker's boring, flat wife. Having previously been a drag with no charisma (Money Train, The Cell, Ben Affleck) she's definitely become more entertaining and interesting since becoming a MILF.

You'll never come back to this movie, which is a shame as I often enjoy either cut of Payback and Lee Marvin's Point Blank is a classic of 1960s cinema. This movie will never achieve such status and it's poor production value is to blame.

Adapted from Flashfire, the 19th Parker novel, written by Donald Westlake under the name Richard Stark, 'Parker' succeeds by arresting it viewer effectively. A Kick-Ass Action Crime-Thriller, that doesn't lack the bite!

'Parker' Synopsis: A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.

'Parker' is good enough entertainment. Its got the pace & the zing one expects from an action crime-thriller nowadays. John J. McLaughlin's Adapted Screenplay moves on a fast-pace & offers some terrific sequences, particularly in the second-hour. Taylor Hackford's Direction is perfect. Cinematography & Editing are decent. Action-Sequences are well-executed.

Performance-Wise: Jason Statham as Parker, is game, as always. Jennifer Lopez does well, although she's awkward initially. Michael Chiklis makes for a worthy nemesis. He's first-rate. Nick Nolte adds tremendous weight to his part.

On the whole, 'Parker' is worth watching.

Despite my expectations of seeing a standard Jason Statham action movie, I can still safely say that "Parker" honestly entertained me. The main premise of the movie is that after being double-crossed by a gang of thieves that hired him, a man named Parker (played by action superstar Jason Statham) decides to steal the bounty of their next heist as revenge. Meanwhile, a bankrupt real estate agent (played by entertainer Jennifer Lopez) gets herself involved in Parker's plan in exchange for a share of the money.

With a premise as simple as this, I was rather surprised that I ended up enjoying the film. Don't get me wrong, it's still flawed in several ways. A lot of the characters like the gang's leader Melander (played by Michael Chiklis-famous for playing The Thing in "The Fantastic Four" movies) and Parker's girlfriend (played by Emma Booth) are underdeveloped and not given enough screen time. Moreover, Parker's girlfriend's father Hurley (played by Nick Nolte) seems to be an important character in the beginning of the film (giving Parker advice and having a substantial amount of screen time), but he disappears about a half hour into the film and is never seen again. The main character Parker also seemed a bit too strong, recovering from very serious injuries rather quickly. However, these flaws really didn't bother me as I was watching the film. Though I'm sure they would if this was an ordinary Jason Statham action movie, there was one certain element that grabbed my interest and honestly made me smile.

Without a doubt, Jennifer Lopez's character Leslie Rogers (see below) stole the show. She is first introduced as an attractive late-thirties real estate agent who just can't seem to sell a house. She also has the misfortune of being routinely hit on and "groped" by clients. This role could have been you're average Mary Sue, Lopez gives conviction and dedication to the role that honestly made me like her character. I wanted Leslie to succeed at helping Parker steal the bounty.

Her character was also quite humorous. One moment that comes to mind is a scene where she sees Parker badly injured and freaks out despite him constantly saying he's okay. Her reaction felt real and that's what made the character so likable.

In Jason Statham's case, his performance is pretty much on-par with nearly every one of his other roles, but there are a few things that made his role here superior. Since this movie is rated R, the action set pieces are much more brutal and bloody, giving Statham a chance to better showcase his talents as a stuntman and real life martial artist. Plus I just can't help but say that his witty, quick line delivery still hasn't gotten old for me. In a few scenes, his character puts on a fake southern accent while in disguise and it did show some comedic promise for Statham.

So is Parker a wonderful, groundbreaking action movie? No; the story is still pretty standard and there are a few flaws overall. Is it worth the discounted $5 ticket I bought. Of course! In fact, I would happily recommend it to hardcore Jason Statham fans as well as Jennifer Lopez fans. Overall: not half bad.

I've read some of Richard Stark (a.k.a. Donald Westlake) 'Parker' books and this movie pretty much captures the essence of the character. This is not Shakespeare folks. The morality is pretty black and white in these books and Taylor Hackford and the screenwriter captures what this character is about very well. The only thing I found awkward in this movie were the flashbacks in the first third -- but that's a screenplay structure issue, not directing issue. Acting-wise, thought everyone did very well with their roles. No, there's not a lot of depth to anyone, except for perhaps Jennifer Lopez's character who makes it clear she's stuck in a dead-end life post-divorce and needs an out. All in all, a very good, entertaining crime thriller. I won't remember this years from now, but it entertained me and kept my attention throughout. And aside from all this, Stratham makes for one good badass! If you like this, definitely check out "The Bank Job" that he starred in: he really shows his acting chops in that one.

It had its value as a action film. Kept me watching. Always enjoy Statham even when the film is just so so. But even for him the physical prowess he displayed was less than I'm used to. Don't get me wrong, it's Statham. So you see plenty of fighting. But he wasn't quite the untouchable fighter you might have come to expect. Still, very much unstoppable, tho.

The violence was extra bloody. Quite frankly, it was indulgent. And I don't mean in the moral sense. I mean in the-they could have definitely spent less money on blood and saved themselves the embarrassment of how fake it looked-sense. Eek! Pretty bad cgi blood that really wasn't necessary. It just felt like bts, they were like "we just want a big mess to clean up post-production! Bring out the ketchup bottles! And then go find someone cheap to animate the blood we can't fake with the ketchup!"

Nick Nolte's character and his "daughter, Claire" turned out to be fairly unnecessary. They had so much prominent screen time in the beginning only to have nothing to do with the rest of the more integral parts of the film. Alternatively, made no sense for Lopez's character to come in so late and essentially become the leading lady that Claire started out being. Lopez was not in any way the "Mrs. Smith" they make her out look like in the poster. Far from it.

They could have easily condensed the two female leads into one. They painted Claire very intentionally as Parker's one and only love and then suddenly she's inexplicably absent from the rest of the movie (save for one last contrived scene with the character). But then there's this back and forth sexual tension between Parker and Lopez's character that also amounts to nothing. So no love triangle. No significance. Leaving me to ask "why?" Why to any of it? Just why? Let Parker and Lopez's character just be partners in crime. Or let them be lovers, idk...just give us some well-developed characters and their relationships with interactions that make sense.

Lopez should have just been Claire, or nix Claire altogether and just bring in Lopez's character sooner. Or fuse the two! Claire was a pretty blah character. Nothing about her was interesting or important.

I find movies about high principled criminals a little tough to take seriously, as well as, finding it difficult to root for anyone when everyone deserves to be behind bars. But that's why you cast an actor fans are going to automatically root for...who's not gonna root for Statham?

I always prefer less nudity, as in none, but that's just me and, to whoever else reading this that agrees, fair warning, there are a few shots of boobs.

Everything else about the film was solid for what it is.

I really enjoyed the movie. It was full of action, excitement, martial arts, fighting, explosions, bad guys, and also had a damsel in distress. Who could ask for anything more?? I also enjoyed the one-on-one scenes Jason had with Jennifer Lopez. If his character was not already involved with Claire, he would have easily began a romance with Jennifer. But being the ethical man that he was, he did not want to cheat. That is what I really call a hero.

The movie stars Jason Statham so everyone knows the type of characters that he portrays....a guy which draws down action, action, shooting, guns, martial arts, more guns, explosions, fighting, and chase scenes. The movie won't win an Oscar, but who really cares, it was a movie that entertained and kept its audience awake.

The movie also had a soft side to it. Here was a man who was a very highly-skilled criminal, but he did not want anyone to be harmed. He was upset when the fire at the Ohio State Fair was not set according to plan. He wanted to use his portion of the money from the take to simply disappear. And of course, his partners had to get greedy. Not good. However, as expected, it worked out in the end for Jason.

Why are some reviewers moaning about the movie, when they knew what they were going to get whenever they see the name Jason Statham?? Enjoy the movie for what it is, exciting entertainment.

Jason Statham stars as "Parker" from 2013, also starring Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte, Bobby Cannavale, Wendell PIerce, Patti Lupone, and Emma Booth.

This is one of those macho films where there is enough blood, shooting, strangulation, knifing, and punching to make five movies. It was relentless. Not to mention the explosions. And we get to see Jennifer Lopez' beautiful body as she has to strip down to prove she's not wearing a wire.

As Parker, Statham survives shootings, knifings, kicking, punching, and enough blood loss to fill a blood bank and just keeps on going. As part of a successful robbery, he just wants to take his cut and go. But the head of the team, Melander (Chiklis) has another idea. He wants to invest some of the money in another robbery that is going to bring them millions each instead of a measly $200,000 each.

Parker refuses and shooting begins in the car. He jumps out, landing in the road, and one of the other robbers is sent to kill him. He shoots him, Parker rolls down the hill and manages to live.

After almost strangling someone with a chair, he finds out Melander and his team are in Palm Beach. Posing as a rich Texan, he has a real estate agent Leslie (Lopez) show him some properties, all the time looking for the gang's hideout.

Miserable with her life, Leslie checks "Parmitt" out and finds out he's a complete phony. She tells him she wants in on whatever he's planning.

Good cast, and I enjoyed the last few scenes the most. This is the type of movie where you can just shut off your mind and watch. On that level, it's non-stop action, and you really do pull for Parker.