Parker starring Jason Statham, Michael Chiklis and Jennifer Lopez follows a ruthless but successful thieve who got betrayed by his gang and left for dead.
A cool, violent, efficient adaptation of the taciturn anti-hero (the creation of Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark), who's out to restore order in a bloody world in his own bloody way.
Parker's vengeance isn't thrilling, there's a pointlessly developed non-love triangle, even the glam settings look cheap, and the tough-guy exchanges are inexplicably flat.
Calling "Parker" run-of-the-mill insults the pleasures of the potboilers it's trying to emulate. It feels like the product of misfits who broke into a mill shuttered on the edge of town and fired up the machines without understanding how they work.
A little more energy behind the camera and a different leading lady and Parker could have been something great. As it stands it's a treat for Statham fans only.
