Translate

Friday, February 1, 2013

the Hollywoodization of Richard Stark's Parker


So Parker kinda sucked. Maybe I'm being biased, because i expected Donald Westlake. Instead I got Hollywood. Parker could have been any other action hero. What really sucked is they dedicated the film to Donald Westlake. I can't imagine him watching this and thinking this is representative of his work.
The best incarnations of Parker were Lee Marvin and Robert Duvall). Jason Statham has nothing on them. Oddly enough this is the first time the name Parker has been used for the character. Two of the others who played the role were Jim Brown and Mel Gibson

And that's just it, Parker is not a Parker film. that is to say, Jason Statham does not play the role of Parker, he's just another hollywood amalgam of a tough guy criminal. Even the character of Claire is all wrong. In the movie she begins as some weak, doe-eyed youngster but somehow toughens up near the end. Claire is a tough, willing, participant in Parker's life, and i can't imagine Parker hooking up with anyone as inconsistent as movie Claire.

I guess it's not a bad movie overall. But if you're a Parker fan, you'll be sorely disappointed, and maybe even heartbroken.



movie poster

No comments:

Post a Comment