FASTER [2010 / 2011] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Justice is Swift, Vengeance is Faster! The Rock Gets His Vengeance in High Definition!
After 10 years in prison, Driver [Dwayne Johnson] has focused on one thing – hunting down the people responsible for brutally murdering his brother. Now a free man with a terrifying purpose, he sets out to find and kill all those on his list. But on his heals are two men who will do anything to stop him – a veteran cop [Billy Bob Thornton] and a hitman [Oliver Jackson-Cohen] who finds his match in this worthy opponent. Now, the hunter is also the hunted.
FILM FACT: Variety reported in May 2009 that Dwayne Johnson was in final negotiations for his role and that Phil Joanou would be directing. That September it was reported that Phil Joanou had dropped out and George Tillman, Jr. would direct the film instead. Salma Hayek was considered for the role of Detective Cicero but a week before filming was started and she dropped out due to "scheduling issues." Salma Hayek was replaced by Carla Gugino. Principal photography began on the 8th February, 2010, in Los Angeles, California and continued in Pasadena and Santa Clarita in California. The Chevrolet Chevelle driven by "Driver" which is prominently displayed in the film has the rear of a 1971 or 1972 model, but the front of a 1970 model presumably due to the rarity and value of the 1970 Chevelle SS 454 which the car in the film is presumably portraying (it is never actually specified).
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Mauricio Lopez, James Gaines, Tom Berenger, Jan Hoag, Courtney Gains, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Irby, Josh Clark, Carla Gugino, Michael Blain-Rozgay, Mike Epps, Sidney S. Liufau, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace, Xander Berkeley, Aaron Behr, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Matt Gerald, John Cirigliano, Jonna Walsh, Kiyomi Calloway, Moon Bloodgood, Aedin Mincks, Michole Briana White, Clint J. Palmer, Jennifer Carpenter, Stephanie Nash, Geraldine Keams, Buzz Belmondo, Lester Speight, Ski Carr, Steven Charles, Julia Pace Mitchell, Jack Wallace, Sara Arrington, Julius Tennon, Stacey E. Ashmont, Seth Burben, Annie Corley, Jeffri Kent Norat, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Nadja Minyon, Alexandra Brown, Charlotte Crossley, Monique Donnelly, Carmel Echols, Joel Echols, Gloria Garayua, James Gilstrap, Mark Gutierrez, Clydene Jackson, Bobette Jamison-Harrison, Chrystopher Ryan Johnson, Ayana Layli, Laura Lively, Rick Logan, Guy Maeda, Kamilah Marshall, Myrna Matthews, Ali B. Olmo, Marisa Rawlins-Bradfield, Sally Stevens, John J West, Chelsea Blaine (uncredited), Taylor Brooks (uncredited), Gerry Carbajal (uncredited), Skip Crank (uncredited), Catherine Fetsco (uncredited), Charlie Glackin (uncredited), Sealie Hernandez (uncredited), Carmen Kirby (uncredited), Katelyn Lieber (uncredited), Trisha Paytas (uncredited), Tony Sagastizado I (uncredited), Marisa Saks (uncredited) and J.A. Steel (uncredited)
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Producers: Dara Weintraub, Joe Gayton, Liz Glotzer, Martin Shafer, Robert Teitel and Tony Gayton
Screenplay: Joe Gayton and Tony Gayton
Composer: Clint Mansell
Cinematography: Michael Grady (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio Descriptive Service
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Thai: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Spanish [Catalan]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish, Thai, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian and Swedish
Running Time: 97 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: TriStar / Castle Rock Entertainment / SONY Pictures Home Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘FASTER’ [2010] is a real tour de force action pack film from start to finish. The plot of the film is very similar to other films of this type of genre, but this time Dwayne Johnson is the man out for vengeance for the killing of his brother and sets out to exact revenge on those who double-crossed him as well and the action pack film is inspired by the gritty genre thrillers of the 1970s.
What makes ‘FASTER’ fun to watch is seeing Dwayne Johnson go back to being the hard-hitting badass we love him to be. If you are a long-time fan of “The Rock” and sick of seeing his talents go to waste in family comedies, it's worth giving this film your money and time to see him at the top of his game.
Dwayne Johnson plays Driver, who is released from prison at the beginning of the film and immediately embarks on a mission to destroy those responsible for putting him there, and putting his brother six feet under. Driver is a man of few words and many tattoos. With ruthless determination he hunts down his prey one by one, using the tools at his disposal – his special Ruger gun and his 1970 Chevelle SS 454 car. Driver is an unstoppable force and Johnson brings a gravitas to the role that few actors these days could accomplish.
Driver has also got his share of pursuers. Here we have Cop [Billy Bob Thornton], a heroin-addicted lawman, and Killer [Oliver Jackson-Cohen], a dapper British assassin who's addicted to the thrill of the chase and the pleasure of disposing of his victims as a cold calculated killer. Both of these characters are more complex than the central anti-hero.
Let’s face it; Dwayne Johnson is one of the hardest working men in Hollywood. He has great charisma on screen and has done many entertaining films like ‘Walking Tall’ and ‘The Rundown.’ As soon as he appears in ‘FASTER,’ you can feel his character’s rage burning throughout the film; and you know he wants justice and he will stop at nothing to get it. I think he says about 5 words in the entire film but he doesn’t need to say much and lets his fist and his trusty gun do the talking.
‘FASTER’ has good cinematography, and I liked how it was different from what one expected, especially in taking a risks; and if you love lots of edge of your seat car chases and explosive action, then this film is definitely for you. It also has plenty of smaller-scale action like hand to hand fight scenes and a few chases; and all of the performances were believable and I find the film gets better with every viewing. Clint Mansell’s film music score is one of his best as well; intense and quite frankly heartbreakingly sad at the same time. If you have not got round to viewing the film ‘FASTER’ or you did and weren’t that impressed at the time, then I definitely recommend you check it out again, especially on Blu-ray as it really is an underrated gem.
FASTER MUSIC TRACK LIST
I AM A POOR PILGRIM OF SORROW (Traditional) [Performed by Indian Bottom Association Old Regular Baptists]
GRIFOS MUERTOS (Written by Jeffrey Luck Lucas) [Performed by Jeffrey Luck Lucas]
JUST DROPPED IN (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) (Written by Mickey Newbury) [Performed by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition]
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (Theme) (Written by Ennio Morricone) [Performed by Mitchell Townsend]
BLOODBUZZ OHIO (Written by Matthew Berninger, Aaron Dessner and Padma Newsome) [Performed by The National]
LEAN ‘N (Written by Brian Whitaker, Eric Hayes and Gary Rolewicz) [Performed by Top Floor]
JOHN THE REVELATOR (Traditional)
GOODBYE MY FRIEND (Written by Guido De Angelis, Maurizio De Angelis, Cesare De Natale and Susan Duncan Smith) [Performed by Guido De Angelis and Maurizio De Angelis]
POBRE PALOMITO (Written by Rodolfo Salis) [Performed by Juan Guerrero y Su Grupo]
I WANNA BE YOUR DOG (Written by Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton, Ronald Asheton and David Alexander) [Performed by Iggy Pop]
SETI (Written by Mitchell Townsend) [Performed by Mitchell Townsend
EN MI VIEJO SAN JUAN (Written by Noel Estrada) [Performed by Javier Solís]
TROUBLE IN MY WAY (Written by James Cleveland) (Arranged by Roberta Martin and Kenneth Woods Jr.)
SHORT CHANGE HERO (Written by Kelvin Swaby, Daniel Taylor, Spencer Page and Chris Ellul) [Performed by The Heavy]
Blu-ray Image Quality – SONY Pictures Home Entertainment presents the film ‘FASTER’ with an awesome 1080p image. Detail levels are incredibly sharp, with some absolutely gorgeous close ups, and due to the great depth of picture, the entire film looks superbly three dimensional and realistic. Black levels are really good, and are very natural looking and very realistic. Colours are amazing, and are some absolutely astonishing sequences throughout this film. The Blu-ray disc nicely replicates the experience of seeing the film in the cinema, with a cinematic scope and scale. It handles the quick-moving action scenes just as well as the static interior shots. All in all, you will not be disappointed, as the whole image presentation gets a five star rating from me.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – SONY Pictures Home Entertainment brings the film ‘FASTER’ with an awesome 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Sound is a massive big part of the film’s experience. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is just as dynamic as you'd hope it would be. Bass is strong and dramatic, particularly when it's showcased in the action scenes. The motion between channels enhances it further, as gunshots whiz by and engines rev all around you. Dialogue is very clear and not generally crowded out by the other elements in the sound mix. The film gives this audio track a lot of opportunities to show off this action packed film that you would expect with a Dwayne Johnson film of this calibre. This awesome audio track will not disappoint you and will give your Home Cinema and your speakers a really good workout!
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Preview Trailers: Here SONY Pictures Home Entertainment gives you what I call a SONY Blu-ray Promotional Trailer for up and coming SONY Blu-ray discs. Running Time: 1:19 minutes
Special Feature: Alternate Ending with Director's Introduction [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1/2.40:1] [12:42] Here you have a choice, where you can either watch this item with the Director George Tillman Jr. introduction or without the introduction. George Tillman Jr. explains why he decided to delete this ending, as you will see why this alternate ending was deleted, as to my mind it was totally messy and would have ruined the flow of the film if it had been left in.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes with Director's Introductions [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1/2.40:1] [10:50] Here you get to view five deleted scenes, which are as follows: Cop & Marina Outside Safe House, Killer Take a Picture (Director's introduction not available), Lily Helps Killer, Cop Takes Care of Marina, and Marina & Lily. As a bonus and like the previous special feature, we get an introduction from Director George Tillman Jr. explaining why these scenes were deleted. On top of all that, you can either watch each item separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Criminals and Cops: The Cast of ‘FASTER’ [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [12:12] With this bonus feature, it goes into the characters of the film, we also get a glimpse of rare behind-the-scene with the making of the film and interviews with the cast and crew, as well as a plethora clips from the film. Contributors include: George Tillman Jr. (Director), Dwayne Johnson (Driver), Joe Gayton and Tony Gayton (Screenwriters), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Killer), Billy Bob Thornton (Cop), Maggie Grace (Lily), Carla Gugino (Cicero) and Moon Bloodgood (Marina).
Special Feature: Weapons and Wheels: The Guns, Cars and Stunts of Faster [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [11:54] With this bonus feature, we get introduced by the prop masters and technical advisers in their mission to make the film as realistic as possible, especially with the arsenal of different guns, cars, and stunts as seen in the film. Once again, we also get a glimpse of rare behind-the-scene with the making of the film and interviews with the cast and crew, as well as a plethora clips from the film. Contributors include: George Tillman Jr. (Director), Chic Daniel (Technical Advisor), Dwayne Johnson (Driver), Will Blount (Prop Master), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Killer), Maggie Grace (Lily), Darrin Prescott (Stunt Coordinator) and Joe Gayton and Tony Gayton (Screenwriters).
Special Feature: Animatics [2010] [1080p] [1.78:1] [12:22] Here we get to view four black-and-white and colour very impressive animated storyboards, which includes: Bank Heist, Old Man, Hospital, and Joust. As usual, you can either watch each item separately or Play All.
Special Feature: MovieIQ: This Blu-ray Disc has the MovieIQ facility that can provide access to a real-time movie database and the following features: Scene-by-scene cast and crew data; Scene-by-scene cast and crew data and Movie Trivia. This Blu-ray also provides CineChat that will provide the ability to chat in real-time with others around the world using an instant messaging program designed specifically for Blu-ray Disc players.
Finally, with the film ‘FASTER,’ when Dwayne Johnson is around, you expect the screen to explode and you definitely get this with this very action packed film. Dwayne Johnson awesome physique and stony face appeal has managed to entertain viewers, and certainly does with this film and will keep you on the edge of your seat with each scene he appears in. Watch out for a few stylish camera angles, a bit of smart editing and fragments of action cuts that are very arresting. The only person I hated and detested in the film was Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the Killer, who was one of the worst actor in this film I have seen in a very long time and just cannot understand why he was allowed to be in the film, there are far better actors around who could of done a far better job. If realism, story and characters are things you care about, you will probably find ‘FASTER’ wanting more. But if you just want to see “The Rock” doing what he does best, then pop this Blu-ray disc in and enjoy the ride and it is a well worth viewing. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
