Dwayne Johnson’s Deadly Revenge Thriller Is Killing It On Streaming
The Dwayne Johnson movie Faster is one of the top performers on Paramount+
Before Dwayne Johnson was attached to blockbuster action franchises like Jumanji, G.I. Joe, and Fast and the Furious, he headlined a handful of mediocre genre flicks that many movie-goers seem to have completely forgotten about. One of those movies is the 2010 action thriller Faster, which has been trending on Paramount+ ever since it was added to the service in early February. According to Flix Patrol, the revenge flick is now the #3 film on the streaming platform.
Released in theaters on November 24, 2010, Faster stars Dwayne Johnson as an ex-con named Driver, who sprints through the gates to take revenge on those responsible for the murder of his brothers. Within hours of brutally dispatching his first target, he has two men on his tail: a veteran police officer (Billy Bob Thornton) and a ruthless assassin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Driver attempts to stay a step ahead of his pursuers, but there are hints that his list is incomplete, and the unknown person may threaten his life.
For a mid-budget movie, Faster features an impressive cast. In addition to Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, the film stars Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Moon Bloodgood, Jennifer Carpenter, Xander Berkeley, Courtney Gains, John Cirigliano, Matt Gerald, and Michael Irby. Faster is directed by George Tillman Jr., who helmed the critically acclaimed biographical drama Notorious one year prior. The film’s screenplay was penned by brothers Tony and Joe Gayton.
Even with all the talent attached to the project, Faster didn’t land well with critics or audiences. The film has a score of 42 percent from professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a slightly better 52 percent from everyday viewers. The critical consensus seems to be that even though Dwayne Johnson turns a solid performance, the movie is riddled with poorly executed action sequences, and it suffers from a hollow storyline.
Based on the film’s Rotten Tomatoes scores, it should come as no surprise that Faster underperformed at the box office. The film only managed to earn $35.6 million globally against a $24 million budget. Although the movie wasn’t a total flop, it’s definitely one of Dwayne Johnson’s lowest-grossing releases.
Fortunately, the wrestler-turned-actor has climbed the Hollywood ranks over the years to become one of the biggest action stars on the planet. Thanks to leading roles in blockbuster titles like Fast Five, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and San Andreas, Dwayne Johnson’s movies have made more than $5 billion combined at the box office. With numbers like that, it’s easy to see why he is now one of the most sought-after actors in the industry.
Up next for the bonified action star is the holiday action flick Red One, which is scheduled to debut on Amazon Prime Video later this year. Plot details for the upcoming film are scarce at this time, but the project features an all-star cast including Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Wesley Kimmel, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt, Kiernan Shipka, and Nick Kroll. The movie is being directed by Jake Kasdan.
