Where to watch Homefront
3 1/2 Stars
Homefront knowns exactly what it is and sets out to entertain with no pretensions. This is an unabashedly low-brow action-thriller with enough pulp to make you choke. Jason Statham stars in a role that writer Sylvester Stallone has once penned for himself, as a rumored installment in the Rambo series.
Statham is perfectly cast as Phil Booker, a retired DEA agent now living a peaceful life in the rural south. A school-yard confrontation between Booker’s daughter and a male bully, (she beats him up!) leads to hostile feelings between the boy’s mother Cassie Bodine (Kate Bosworth) and Booker. Despite the constant attempts at friendliness Cassie won’t let the issue go, she eventually enlists the aid of her brother, Gator Bodine (James Franco) to run Booker and his daughter out-of-town.
Having escaped his past, Booker finds himself battling old enemies out for revenge in a town crippled by drugs and criminals. When Gator, learns of Booker’s true identity he alerts a vengeful sociopathic biker to the matter. The killers come to town in force looking to take out the ‘snitch’. This all culminates in a series of well-executed and violent confrontations that are edited with beautiful efficiency.
Homefront is a gem of craftsmanship. This is a rollicking good-time with some really ‘good’ guys matching up against the really ‘bad’ guys. It’s very black and white, with a few tweaks this could have been set in the old west. It works splendidly as a quickie action fix or a non-insulting throwback piece.
Director: Gary Fleder
Stars: Jason Statham, James Franco, Kate Bosworth