Parker
User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 46
  3. Negative: 10 out of 46

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  1. analogkid280
    Jan 27, 2013
    8
    Lopez adds a refreshing twist to this play by the numbers Statham movie. I think she should of been the next Bond girl but I will accept her in this almost straight to dvd action flick. Also it is nice to see an action movie with fight scenes that do NOT involve to much shaky cam. There is a reason why they keep making movies of this type. It just works and people buy it.
  2. Oroiael
    Jan 25, 2013
    7
    Even if you go into this movie waiting to hate it for its simplistic and slavish obedience to the action-thriller genre, Jason Statham will win you over. He has the "it" factor that makes the movie work, just like his Transporter series and Crank. When you sprinkle the bodacious curves of Lopez on top, the result is pure goodness! Sometimes the formula used by the simpletons in Hollywood works, and sometimes it doesn't. That is the danger with using a formula. This time it worked.… Expand
  3. TheGeographer52
    Jan 25, 2013
    3
    Just your regular Statham movie. Nothing new, just all the same as before, no point lots of violence.
  4. JPG127
    Jan 25, 2013
    8
    This was a standard Jason Statham movie, in a good way. The action was decent, the trailer did not ruin the movie and the pacing of Parker was really good.
  5. gunnyart
    Feb 4, 2013
    3
    My expectations weren't high going in and they were met. Sometimes I too enjoy a mindless action flick like most guys, but this one bored me. What's more the makers obviously wanted the audience to sympathize with a psychopathic murderous thief. It doesn't work on any level.
  6. TVJerry
    Feb 5, 2013
    6
    Jason Statham plays himself: This time as a pro thief who gets double-crossed by his gang, causing him to seek revenge. It's a pretty standard story with steady beats of action: lots of hand-to-hand, but not much that shows off his skills. Jennifer Lopez shows up to add some feminine charms, but the role is useless. Even though this is starting to sound negative, the movie is solid and never lags. For Statham fans, it's not one of his best, but it's still enjoyable.… Expand
  7. Bikerjames
    Jan 28, 2013
    7
    Being a Statham fan I had to see the latest entry. I would rank it slightly better than average. The plot is the standard where the protagonist is left for dead, then seeks revenge on all his betrayers. We've seen this in other Statham movies, Clint Eastwood movies, and countless other "revenge" action pictures. It's a formula that works when done well. The Jennifer Lopez character is really strange. At first she is brave, willing to throw herself in a dangerous situation, then other times in the movie she is the stereotypical, overreacting hysterical female. She seemed to have a split personality. Recommended if your a fan of this genre.… Expand
  8. Benarden
    Feb 13, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The opening shot of "Parker" is a ride at The Ohio State Fair; huge and scary; that you've just bought a ticket for. Just hang on. .
    Based on a Donald Westlake novel (Point Blank,The Hot Rock), With elements of "Drive" and "Skyfall" there's nothing not to like about this film. Back at The fair, you quickly realize there's something very wrong going on here amongst the rides and cotton candy. Jason Statham a close relation of Wolverine according to the very inventive fight scenes and rapid recovery time, is someone you just don't cross. Jennifer Lopez as a not a kid anymore" Real Estate Agent living with Mom,( Patty Lupone), on a losing streak and slightly crazy, willing to take a big risk adds a needed character to the story. In addition to phenomena camera work and editing, characters are given a back story with just a few well placed lines. Clowns, crooked firemen, wild "Bourne"-type fight scenes and SCUBA Diving; It's nice to see a film this good actually got made.
    Rated "R" for Language, Violence GHAAAA!!!! Brief Nudity and Jennifer Lopez taking off her dress.
    Very, very good.    … Expand
  9. quincytheodore
    Feb 4, 2013
    5
    If Jason Statham has been stuck in one-dimensional roles, he's not going to make any breakthrough at Parker, despite having southern accent and hair at the first scene. A bit of action, more of heist thriller, Parker is overly long and awkwardly paced. Fight scenes are sparse, for those who hope for high octane skull mashing, this probably won't meet such expectation. Addition of Jennifer Lopez adds some light humorous touches, warranting her appearance more than just an eye candy.

    Parker (Jason Statham) is a man betrayed by his teammate after completing an almost botched heist, he was shot and left to death. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't die and vows revenge instead. Most of the movie is cat-and-mouse plots as he chases them across countries in not so exciting pace. There are a couple of fights in between, although the amount feels lacking for a movie led by Jason. For these few scenes, they are done quite well though. Unbarred bone breaking punches, kicks and other assortments of nearby potential weapon swinging are viscerally entertaining.

    The rest is a bare heist plot, which really won't hold a candle compare to more cerebral crime action movies. Pacing is undeniably slow, most of the things happen on-screen, even some with both leads appearing, are somewhat lackluster. The movie has about two hours in length and frankly with this long dragging set-up, one might expect some clever scheme building up towards the end, but it is not so. Without spoiling anything, the pace is equally stale from start to finish.

    Jason Statham bring his usual screen presence, he's a rugged, honor bound thief who keeps his principles religiously. When he threatens or hurts someone, he does so very earnestly, at that regard, he fulfills his role. Jennifer Lopez as Leslie is actually quite good. For someone who has superstar fame, she acts as poor people convincingly. There are modesty and honesty when she appears as well, making her likeable to the audience, aside for her popularly known hind allure.

    The two leading actors do their parts well, however the script and direction are mediocre. Parker is a bland movie, which has brief excitements across its lengthy run, albeit not nearly enough for the whole.    … Collapse
  10. theoffice
    Jan 26, 2013
    4
    "Parker" is a very poorly written movie with an uninteresting plot whose only saving grace are the action sequences. The first half was alright, but as soon as the subplot involving Jennifer Lopez, whose character is meant to provide comedic relief, begins about 1 hour in it takes a huge turn for the worse. Statham is a decent actor who has done much better movies and without him this would be a total flop. Lopez on the other hand was simply terrible, though not all of it was her fault because even the concept of her character was ridiculously stupid. Overall it is far too long for the script potential, Lopez's character was an awful addition, and the fact that the movie tries to be funny and serious at the same time all combine to make for a pretty bad experience. So in the end, a low brow flick that I would not recommend at all.… Expand
  11. reddave2
    Mar 13, 2013
    4
    Good old Jason Statham. He's made quite a few movies as the though but moral hardman who lives by a strict guideline. And yet when I think of his best roles I think of Snatch, Lock Stock & Mean Machine all films where he shows more comic timing than you might expect. And its something that Parker could have done with.

    This is an action thriller that really should have been made in the     80's. It needs its tongue to stick a little more out of its check. The action scenes are done very well (one scene with a knife and a balcony is great) but thats to be expected from JS. He has a likeable charisma and just about carries the character of parker. They also have Michael Chiklis as chief villain he's a good fit for the role but doesn't get used enough for me. Instead of getting some fun, silly grandstanding from both guys, we get a more serious take on things which takes away from the mood rather than adds. The problem is the overall plot is rather silly. Thats not a bad thing as such but the film seems to want to play things very straight where a lighter touch would have helped things along much better in my mind.

    I haven't mentioned J-lo yet and there's a reason. She adds nothing. At all. She lacks the charm for the role and (no offence obviously) but she seems too pretty and confident for a character who is, essential down on their look and desperate for a break from life. Really not sure what her character is meant to bring to the film she's not a love interest, she's doesn't bring fun or laughs and she fails at bringing sympathy. She's not even really a damsel in distress. The film would work pretty much ok without her.

    Parker could have been better but as it is, it's not really worth bothering with. It's also quite long for a film of it's type and I reckon you may just be too bored by the end.    … Expand
  12. certified_hater
    Feb 6, 2013
    4
    And the verdict is: Michael Chiklis still hasn’t given a performance worth watching since he starred in “The Shield”. Directed by Taylor Hackford, who actually directed “Ray” (oh, how the mighty have fallen) and starring Jason Statham as the same character he plays in every movie, and Jennifer Lopez playing a sort of love interest character, who reeks of desperation (art imitating life peng life perhaps?) “Parker” is neither a bad nor a good action film, but more so a forgettable one.
    OK, so I won’t bother with a synopsis here, or a critique of this pretty flimsy storyline, or discuss how Statham and Lopez have absolutely no chemistry, or even touch on Statham’s horrid Texas accent, because in all actuality, nobody reading this cares; when a majority of audiences (men primarily) probably paid top box office prices for the sole purpose of catching the shot of Lopez’s butt, which had been teased in the trailer. In fact, in the theater where I saw “Parker”, soon after the scene in question (which occurs about an hour in) and this is no joke, there was a mass exodus consisting of male audience members, who undoubtedly saw what they came to see and were satisfied enough to go home without any interest in watching Statham do one of his Statham-esque, shoot everybody in the room more times than necessary, endings. So let’s talk about that for a second: the rather gratuitous butt scene only lasts for all of a second, in a long shot no less (meaning, from pretty far away). So while you do see her butt in some polka dot underwear, the consensus has to be that if you were one of those who paid 10+ dollars to see this scene in particular, you may come out of “Parker” feeling more than a little cheated…and probably ashamed.
    Final Thought: If this is the type of movie that Jennifer Lopez is reduced to starring in, then it is no surprise that when recently confronted by Latin periodicals as to her level of interest in playing Jenni Rivera in the sure to be forthcoming biopic, her answer was resoundingly positive. I’m sorry to break this to all of the J Lo fans out there, but the simple truth is, at this juncture of her life, it would seem that she simply can’t afford to turn down ANY ROLE presented to her.

    Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland

    Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus    … Expand
  13. foxgrove
    Mar 9, 2013
    7
    Parker is a very entertaining heist and revenge drama. Jason Statham is in his element here and this is his only other good film after 'The Bank Job'. Muscularly directed by Taylor Hackford and tightly edited the film is a guilty pleasure. Jennifer Lopez doesn't disgrace herself, although she is saddled with some of the worst of the dialogue, and events move at a cracking pace. The opening heist scene is good value and there is a corker of a scene involving a shower curtain, a knife and lashings of blood which is edge of seat stuff. The West Palm Beach locations are also breathtakingly unfamiliar.… Expand
  14. Arnoldsamyrichy
    Feb 3, 2013
    6
    Statham and Jlo in the same film??? was the question I asked myself when the casting of this film was announced. And the final rendering on the screen makes me understand why I was doubtful. I mean, Parker is simply Statham's stereotyp type of film...an invincible hero who never cares to woman, even if the woman is Jennifer Lopez. The plot, is not very interesting, even if Jlo try to provide some comic situation.… Expand
  15. sanyrub
    Mar 18, 2013
    2
    Horrible. I never go to see these type of mediocre films but I was forced by a friend. The good thing about this brainless action films is they are usually short. I was shocked when I knew I had to endure 2 hours in the theatre. First time seeing a film with this actor called Statham... well, he´s not an actor, he just shows his face and that´s it. Horrible. The plot is so ridiculous and t tired. Most of the time you don´t care what the characters are doing. About Jennifer Lopez: she just can´t appear in a good film even if her life depended on it. She adds a little bit of spark to the horrendous film but we all know she is a decent actress at best, so nothing good can be said about this.… Expand
  16. NavQ
    Jan 30, 2013
    7
    Storyline: This is a remake of 'Payback' basically but with Jason Statham as Parker, a thief with principals. Remembering that this is really a well made Jason Statham movie you know what to expect and on this it delivers. Michael Chiklis is the main bad guy and Jennifer Lopez is the lead female. The story is quite good and will satisfy any action movie/Statham fans.

    Acting: What can yo    u say about Statham? Up to now he is getting away with being himself and I'm certainly not bored watching his films but this 'one trick pony' could end up being a box office pariah. I would like to see him (eventually) trying something different. I like Michael Chiklis but he wasn't used a great deal in this but was good at being bad. Jennifer Lopez is not a bad actress (no she isn't) and did OK, she even got her kit off which for us males wasn't a bad thing, not a bad thing at all.

    Direction: Taylor Hackford is without doubt a good director and I've seen a lot of his movies but I couldn't see a film a say, oh, that looks like Taylor Hackford directed that. He doesn't have a unique style which this film could have done with to give it something extra, know what I mean? Maybe not.

    Production: I enjoyed everything about this film and thought it was well put together with a really strong cast (for an action flik) and a decent story so $30 million seems well spent. I can see them turning a decent profit especially when it's out on BluRay.

    Conclusion: I love a good action movie every now and then and this fits the bill. Statham, Chiklis and Jay Lo, what more do you need? Recommended.

    Score: 7.5/10    … Expand
  17. Wes_Brewer
    Feb 23, 2013
    5
    Selected scenes balance this film’s less than balanced pacing and lackluster. All character motivations and plot points are clear; however, jumps are made throughout this story to push it, quickly, to its end causing the personal connection to be weaker than it was initially hoped to be.
  18. Thegodfatherson
    Feb 19, 2013
    7
    Parker picks up great pace, surely it's not a comeback movie but its awesome. Jason was good Lopez was good and Taylor hack ford is the man for movies like this. 7/10 great movie must watch. A one of theatres
  19. Julie1948
    Mar 31, 2013
    0
    This movie never really stood a chance what with Jennifer Lopez in it to start with, her wooden acting asks the question Why When there are so many talented actors out there and of course that leaves Statham who grunts his way through yet another badly cast film, had these two not been cast the film might have done well but poor old Jason appears unable to act differently, regardless of the script, he is the same in every film, hardly an acting challenge, and far from a good or fair film.… Expand
  20. azazqadir
    May 16, 2013
    5
    Parker is your typical Statham movie. Watch only if you are a die hard fan of Jason Statham. Else, this movie has nothing new or even interesting to offer.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 28
  3. Negative: 10 out of 28
  1. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Hughes
    Mar 4, 2013
    60
    Fifty years after he first appeared, Donald E. Westlake’s antihero may have found his perfect avatar. Like Parker’s robberies, it isn’t entirely successful, but Statham and Lopez make enticingly mismatched partners in crime.
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  2. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Laremy Legel
    Feb 26, 2013
    58
    Sometimes in life, simple pleasures can be rewarding, and that’s certainly the case here. Parker is not a particularly innovative film, but it’s no less effective for the blemish.
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  3. Total Film
    Reviewed by: Rob James
    Feb 9, 2013
    60
    He might have lost his edge, but Parker hasn’t mellowed in his old age. A sunny, silly, violent revenger that puts Statham in good company.
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