Michael's Movie Grade: C+
Review: This will never be considered an action classic, but it is fun.
In many ways Dwayne Johnson is this movie's rock (see what I did there). What makes this movie work is the Rock's extremely likable on screen persona. This may not be the most complex character, but I couldn't help but like him. Because I liked this character, the suspense scenes worked quite well. I did not want to see anything happen to him or the family he cared so much about. Unfortunately none of the other characters feel this fleshed out, and when he is not on screen the movie suffers. Still he is onscreen for the majority of the movie, so there aren't many of these scenes to sit through. Though the movie would have still benefitted from better villains.
The action scenes are over the top silly fun. True, if you try to think about them possibly they don't make sense but why would you want to do that? These scenes feel big and the special effects are quite good. This is especially true if you see it in Dolby.
The story itself is one we have seen many times before, and there is even a Lady of Shanghai shootout scene. Nothing new is added here, but because we like the main character we are still invested and there still are some great action scenes. Don't go in expecting a great movie. This is a turn your mind off and just have fun film, and it works as that.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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