Homefront
Tags: neo noir, murder, violence, feel-good, flashback, revenge

Plot synopsis:
Two years after the raids of a gang's meth lab where his cover was broken, former DEA Agent Phil Broker (Jason Statham) and his daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic) have moved to a small Louisiana town where Maddy's deceased mother grew up. Maddy gets into a schoolyard fight with a bully named Teddy Klum; when Broker comes to the school, Teddy's hostile father, Jimmy (Marcus Hester), picks a fight with him and loses. Cassie Klum (Kate Bosworth) later asks her brother, a drug dealer named Gator Bodine (James Franco), to scare Broker.
Broker fights off a few of Gator's thugs at a gas station when they threaten him. While he and Maddy later go horseback riding, Gator breaks into their house. He deduces from old personnel files that Broker was the undercover cop responsible for the arrest of Danny T (Chuck Zito) in the raid two years earlier. Hoping to get a wider distribution for the drugs he manufactures, Gator tips off Danny T, who sends members of his gang to kill Broker.
Broker finds Gator's meth lab and sabotages it. He is captured and tortured by the same thugs he fought off earlier, but manages to fight them off and escape. As he and Maddy are preparing to leave, the gang members arrive. In the scuffle, Broker manages to kill most of the gang members and Maddy is kidnapped, but not before she calls the police. She uses her cell phone to call her dad and, from her descriptions, Broker realizes that she has been taken to Gator's meth lab.
Cassie arrives at Gator's warehouse with news of the gunfight. When she discovers Maddy there, she accidentally sets off the booby trap that Broker has set up. The lab and much of the warehouse explode, and Gator watches his business go up in flames. A scuffle ensues and Gator shoots Cassie before fleeing with Maddy in his truck. Broker chases him in a police cruiser until they find themselves stuck on a bridge closed off by the sheriff. Broker beats up Gator badly, stopping short of shooting him in front of the police when he notices his daughter watching.
Gator is arrested and Broker later visits Danny T in prison, letting him know that he will be around when Danny T is eventually released.

Review: Now you'd expect the typical reviews for this kind of movie from most critics, "it's just another mindless action film" or "Statham can't act".
This is a Jason Statham movie but a strong supporting cast of Franco and Zito steal the show as both small time and big time antagonists.
But what starts out as a few minor threats quickly begins to escalate and become more personal, and Broker is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his daughter and his homefront.Jason Statham has been known for his past non-stop action films.
And while she's present through a good chunk of the movie as Franco's girlfriend, Winona Ryder has a character that should have been given a bit more history, as she's an integral part when it comes to the "other" villains.Jason Statham gives a very credible performance.
Its got the action you want, a believable story to keep the momentum going and a handful of good actors to support it.First of all, I LOL at all the people criticizing the plot, dialog, character development etc, again let me LOL.
People watch Jason's movies for the a** kicking action and fight scenes.
Sylvester Stallone writes the screenplay for the Jason Statham and James Franco led Homefront, and we love it!
But if you squash your preconceived biases that will doom Homefront to failure, you open yourself to watch a supremely entertaining, funny and highly thrilling film.Phil Broker recently widowed and struggling to raise his 9-year old daughter Maddy the only way a father knows.
Unfortunately, his past history and the criminal occurrences of his new residence makes matters more complicated and he must soon use his skills to protect his daughter the only way he knows how.Homefront has an energy and vibrancy about it, a spark, that revitalizes the potentially stagnant action film type.
Kate Bosworth, James Franco and Winona Ryder are all notable in their acting and contributing to the film's overall success.At first glance, Homefront should be an uninspired derivative action flick solely for box office numbers.
First off, the only reason this movie gets a ten out of ten from me is to try and balance out the unfair average score it's been given.I never really liked Statham, he just never stood out to me as a particularly great actor, and certainly isn't my favorite.
In fact, there were plenty of times were my heart-strings were pulled, as an American male, living in the south during these times in the war on drugs, I was able to connect enough with Statham's character, even if I never worked in law- enforcement.Unfortunately, this is pretty much the movie's downfall, seeing as we live in a time where it's frowned upon to have any sort of pride or ability to defend yourself or your family, and God forbid you like a movie that teaches you such things.
Basically, what I'm saying is that if you're a bleeding heart wuss who doesn't like seeing drug-dealers getting their just-desserts, then you won't like this movie, and should probably go watch a Michael Moore movie or some mess.However, if you're a fan of action, suspense, and watching the bad-guys get the snot beat out of them, this is definitely a good movie for you..
Jason Statham is so underrated and needs to be more known for his acting in these great action movies he's in.
Homefront has evidently more pluses than minuses - pleasant performances by "the good guys" - Jason Statham as a caring but tough father Phil Broker and Izabela Vidovic as sensitive but tough Maddy, realistic atmosphere, catchy fights, meaningful use of violence...
Either it's from the poor casting or lackluster predictable content, audience will most likely have little to none enjoyment watching Jason Statham bludgeoning random thugs, again.Jason Statham plays Phil Broker, a former undercover cop who retires into the countryside after his testimony incarcerated a drug lord.
Unfortunately, the main problem with Homefront is that director Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls, Runaway Jury) didn't use his action skills as a means to improve the movie, but rather sticked to the usual way of filming action scenes which involve quick edits, extreme close-ups, and shaky camera movements.
Typical American gung ho shooting get them all bad guys good guys.I watched the whole thing but I could of spent better my evening.Acting is OK, I liked the little girl, she is a promising acting talent, otherwise other actors acted well white trash little town folk.What else should I say about this film?
James Franco is great as the main bad guy., Izabela Vidovic was also great as Statham's character's daughter, I can, definitely see her appearing in many more movies in the future.
While not perfect, this is pretty much your typical Jason Statham movie, (that's a good thing), with a nice father-daughter relationship thrown, in.
This time round please take that as read because, actually, in Homefront, Statham has delivered his most throwback, recognisable and just down right enjoyable action film of the year.
While the junkets and interviews for this have tried to emphasise the emotion in the story, Statham showing vulnerability as a father and talk of him trying something different, actually this is the one movie this year that he's made that is just a straight up, old school, actioner.When the movie starts we see undercover agent Stath's last case gone bad when his delicate work undercover with a biker gang is shattered by the heavy and messy hand of the DEA.
Throw in a crooked but charming sheriff (The always welcome Clancy Brown), the dependable, one good man in a hick town, best friend (Omar Benson Miller) and the beautiful, red headed, more than perfect, school psychologist (Rachelle Lefevre) and you've got yourself a damn enjoyable, by the book, nostalgia tinted, kick ass action movie.If you've seen and loved Walking Tall or Road House then you'll like this.
There is a pause in the middle to allow for character and plot development, some father and daughter bonding scenes and a nice sense of building tension for the third act fight but Statham dispatching some lunk headed rednecks is never far away.As for the action we get a couple of car chases, some old fashioned fisty cuffs and even an enormous explosion.
Winona Ryder doesn't have a ton to do and neither does Rachelle Lefevre but Clancy Brown and Omar Benson Miller are effortlessly enjoyable and welcome whenever they're on screen.Statham is his usual strong self, with maybe even less to say in this than in his normal roles and while he seems comfortable and it's never jarring, he does, sadly, lack great chemistry with Izabela Vidovic, the girl playing his daughter.
It is not that Izabela is no good, either, because she's a great little actress and they do have some affecting scenes together, it's just not 100% believable, not that it has to be for the film to work.So, for all of you who don't believe Statham does anything but the same character in the same film, hopefully 2013 has proved you wrong, if it hasn't, Homefront is hardly going to go any further to change your mind, that being said, if you watched Parker and Redemption and longed for some of the wham bam, throw back days then Homefront should help stop that craving.
Now it is true that Jason Statham plays the same character in everything but he does it well and he has a good performance in this film.
The girl who plays stathams daughter does a great job as well and the chemistry between the two is really good and you actually feel like you should care about them.
The kind where the hero is manly, cool, charismatic, badass, etc, while the bad guy is creepy, talks a lot, and uses goons for most of his deeds.Homefront also has an excellent supporting cast (my favorites being Clancy Brown and Kate Bosworth), beautiful photography (despite many interior scenes being way too dark), good sense of pace and tension, great locations, well-acting kids, and so on.So, Homefront is almost a keeper.
Scripted by Sylvester Stallone and starring quite a nice trio of supporting performers, Kate Bosworth, James Franco and Wynona Ryder, Jason Statham's latest film HOMEFRONT has all the makings of a perfect B movie...
Winona Ryder seems to never really age; James Franco, of course, playing the cunning local drug dealer with dreams of greatness; Clancy Brown has a small role as the sheriff; Kate Bosworth is the loud mouthed woman; you will also probably recognize Omar Benson Miller or Linds Edwards.
Homefront is a solid action movie, and even though I typically enjoy Jason Statham movies, it's nice to see a change of pace for him.
As action movies goes, I have seen better, but I have also seen far worst.Gary Fleder's film is about a former DEA agent named Phil Broker who lives with his daughter in a small town of Louisiana.
We also get solid performances out of Winona Ryder as Gator's hooker friend, and Kate Bosworth as the crazy mother of the kid who was beaten up by Broker's daughter.Overall, Homefront is a good movie.
really loves the story and how the twists and turns happens in the life of Broker & his daughter.I guess this movies sound quality was really awesome when it comes to the action sequence.this movie was well written cause of Sir Sylvester Stallone who is also the writer of Rocky which became a huge hit & still is a huge hit.really nice movie to watch on and on would get fed up watch over & over cause it sounds really interesting.I guess James Franco played a cowardly part in his role in this movie not much interesting though.but i wish if Sir Stallone would have made a guest appearance which would have made this movie much more popular than it is.but in generally this movie is quite an interesting on with a good story saga of events wrapped around a single small incident which takes place in Broker's daughter's school..
Statham is his usual ultimate badass self in the film and goes up against none other than James Franco as the movie's main bad guy!
Definitely worth seeing for any Statham fan or action movie junkie.Statham plays an undercover DEA agent, named Phil Broker, who helps bust a biker gang which sends the leader, 'Danny T' (Chuck Zito), to prison.
Broker of course has to beat up a lot of bad guys to get himself out of trouble once again.I miss these 80s style action films; the type that Stallone and Schwarzenegger used to star in.
If you want a real 80s style kick-ass action film than this is the movie for you and Statham definitely delivers the goods (once again).
The plot of an ex undercover cop who has trouble with the aggressive members of his new neighbourhood, combined with the excellent cast of Jason Statham, James Franco, Izabela Vidovic and Kate Bosworth sounds like an amazing movie.
Homefront (2013) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Former undercover cop Phil Broker (Jason Statham) takes his young daughter to the swamps of Louisiana where he plans to live a normal life but after some events he's forced to go up against a drug dealer (James Franco) and his past.
Fans of Jason Statham have seen him in mostly worthy films having the right combo of action and scripted dialog but I sat finding either useless dialog and or ridiculous scenes that made no sense.
Statham is the typically tough-but-with-a-heart lead, while James Franco's casting raises eyebrows as the villain; imposing he ain't.The film in many ways feels like the star vehicles of old; Seagal's toxic-waste thriller FIRE DOWN BELOW came to mind a couple of times.
It is great seeing Jason Statham front and center as a driven character, James Franco is dreadful as a bad guy.
If you don't like those kind of revenge stories just don't watch the Statham movies because that's basically what you get every time.
Winona Ryder really did a great job as the skanky bad girl Sheryl, she and James Franco had a really good chemistry and kinda bad guy dynamic going throughout the film.
As for Jason Statham, he was perfect for his starring role, I mean could NOT have picked a better action star to lead this movie!
Statham is a good wrecking havoc and still remembers to show a little bit of emotion, but the rest of the cast gives some mediocre performances, with the exception of Franco, who is extremely unconvincing and forgettable as the villain.I liked how the movie is set in an ordinary Southern town where most of the citizens are just regular folks minding their own business and taking care of their land and families.
However, that also makes me wonder why Statham is cast, since he is an Englishman and does not seem like somebody who'd enjoy riding a horse, although he does that a lot in the movie.As a whole, Homefront is obviously nothing special, but fans of action flicks and/or Jason Statham will probably find this film entertaining..
Phil Broker(Jason Statham) a DEA agent who quits cause a bust does not go down the way he hoped, two years later, he and his daughter try to settle down in Mississippi, until his daughter beats up a bully, and the bullies crack head mom(Kate Bosworth) wants some kind of action done.
Although Broker does his best to make peace, but the crack head moms drug lord brother(James Franco) is called in to shake things up.A pretty descent film, I like Jason Statham just does not play a one noted action hero, but also plays a concern parent pretty well also.
It was great to see Winona Ryder back on the big screen (I missed her)and working alongside the uber talented James Franco, who plays a seriously sick dude(his forte).Kate Bosworth's character was so incredibly annoying that I almost plugged my ears at one point just to shut her voice out - and I mean this as a sincere compliment to her acting skills in this movie.
A small school fight escalates into the criminals from his past catching up with him Getting A list cast like James Franco, Winona Ryder, and Kate Bosworth to do white trash is a good move.
In this one he plays the role of Phil Broker who gets embroiled with a local meth dealer (James Franco) which quickly escalates until his past starts to catch up with him I know some may be tired of Statham playing the same character with a different back story, but in this particular movie a strong supporting cast does a good job of fleshing this out to the point where it actually became a fairly effective action movie.I found the story was a little bit of a formulatic rehashing of most lone wolf action movies (including some of Statham's), but it was very well done and Statham is very believable and bankable in his roles.
He does a great job in the role and seems to be really into his character and he seems pretty at ease in an action movie (although I found his action scenes were fairly watered down).Winona Ryder has a decent turn as Franco's girlfriend, but I can't help but think how far she has fallen in the past decade and half.
This is a typical Jason Statham movie and we know he will prevail, but what makes this more compelling is the daughter as we watch and care because of Maddie.
"Homefront" does have a good storyline, but as with all Jason Statham movies, you know exactly what you get here; one guy against overwhelming odds, and coming out victorious.
Why break something that works.Homefront should please most Statham fans but there's nothing new here in this action flick and feels more like a film dragged from the early 90's..
This was a great action film and Jason Statham was in his usual great form playing the good guy who's got a maniac bubbling right under his skin.
This story is about Phil Broker, played by Jason Statham, who moves into a small town hoping to provide a better living for his daughter.
The film will put viewers into those situations where they'd either say, "what would I do if.." or "I wish I had.." and let's Statham play out the fight scenarios with maximum leverage.This movie had excellent fight scenes, great tactical thinking and a pretty decent story line.
I watched "Homefront" last night and liked it it was a good Statham movie and it was also a bit different from other action movie and that is the thing I liked the most.Statham was great at his place what to say about him and the girl who played the role of Statham daughter is also good and James Franco was a good addition to this movie but somewhat he was a Joker at some places.Other supporting cast were also good at their places and the direction was above average and good to watch the acting was good not great but a fun to watch.Overall a good Statham movie and also a bit different from his usual films..
Izabela Vidovic action as Jason Statham's daughter at some scenes is awful.
With Jason Statham starring as the lead character, I was expecting not an action packed movie but at least some good action scenes or story.
Even though James Franco is the "bad guy" in the movie Kate Bosworth is really the one to watch.
In "Homefront", Jason Statham plays an ex-DEA agent who retires to a small town with plans of raising his daughter in a more pastoral setting.
Homefront is a simple crime / action movie with Jason Statham who plays ex-DEA agent Phil Broker (again an ex-something, it's getting old..) who tries to settle down with his nine year old daughter in a quiet town.