Parker
FilmDistrict | Release Date: January 25, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
10
Negative:
11
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyJan 26, 2013
The movie is neatly directed by Taylor Hackford, who keeps it moving quickly without descending into a blur of cut-cut-cut edits. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie OgleJan 25, 2013
Even the people who griped about Tom Cruise being cast as the towering Jack Reacher will have to admit Statham fits nicely in Parker's shoes. Read full review
70
VarietyBrian LowryJan 24, 2013
Crisp and efficient, with the occasional clunky moments, Parker also shows off Jennifer Lopez (literally) to good effect, while mostly squandering the rest of its first-rate cast. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberJan 24, 2013
The picture is far from great, but it's a serviceable B-movie with some A-list talent on a slumming expedition. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 24, 2013
Parker...is not a great movie....But Parker is nonetheless great fun. It is part of a welcome trend, or counter-trend, in action filmmaking, an effort to strip away the apocalyptic bloat and digital fakery that have overtaken the genre and return to its pulpy, nasty, mechanical roots. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 25, 2013
The action scenes are crisply directed, brutal, and invigorating. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorJan 24, 2013
The tight-lipped, give-no-quarter Statham is impeccable as the pitiless yet honourable Parker (though fans of the books will no doubt quibble, especially over the British accent). On the other hand, Lopez, that pleasant sex pot, hasn't a hope of producing the tragic desperation of her down-on-her-luck character. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJan 24, 2013
Taylor Hackford directs crisply, unpretentiously. Patti LuPone goes Latina, playing Lopez's soap opera-addicted mom, and Bobby Cannavale is a Palm Beach cop with an eye for Leslie. The action is fast and furious. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesMar 4, 2013
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. Read full review
60
Total FilmRob JamesFeb 9, 2013
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. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 25, 2013
It's an uneven but fairly enjoyable ride, one that benefits from Statham's cool, capable presence. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 24, 2013
If you're going to saturate a film with so much violence, at least it's nice to see an action hero - or antihero - actually feeling the pain. Read full review
58
Film.comLaremy LegelFeb 26, 2013
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. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJosh ModellJan 25, 2013
Though Parker starts off fairly strong, the action gets more predictable as it meanders toward its conclusion. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJan 26, 2013
Parker the movie, like the man, delivers exactly as promised. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickJan 24, 2013
Parker is watchable chiefly for Statham, who exudes effortless cool and excels in hand-to-hand combat, as well as demonstrating his skill at wielding some very unlikely weapons. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumJan 25, 2013
The movie is a morals-free procession of bang bang bang! and blood blood blood!, and men slamming each other with blunt objects and slicing each other with blades. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJan 24, 2013
If you go in knowing what you're getting, you should come out relatively satisfied. Our hero vigorously beats up a parade of bad guys. Lots of bullets fly. There are a couple of decently plotted thefts. And to tell the truth, Statham's Southern accent is nearly worth the price of admission itself. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiSep 9, 2014
The best things about Parker are the two lead actors. Although working with material that is lackluster even by his standards, Statham manages to demonstrate a commanding screen presence that cannot be dismissed. Opposite him, Lopez delivers one of her more convincing performances. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJan 30, 2013
Despite an epic fight or two, Parker robs us of the revenge, the suspense of the hunt, of Parker's methodical way of tracking down those who betrayed him, one by one. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesPeter SobczynskiJan 26, 2013
The best things about Parker are the two lead actors. Although working with material that is lackluster even by his standards, Statham manages to demonstrate a commanding screen presence that cannot be dismissed. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJan 19, 2013
Tonally, Parker's not so much broad or inclusive as weirdly schizophrenic, vacillating between flat comedy and spiked savagery, the product of a painfully slapdash script that also includes such laughable incidental dialogue as "pizza-I love that sh.t" and "beers and jewels, baby." Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 24, 2013
The essence of this grindingly violent movie can be summed up by what Parker says of his handgun to a terrified clerk at a check-cashing service: "It's small, but it hurts." Read full review
25
Boston GlobeTom RussoJan 31, 2013
The best we get here are modest action diversions. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedJan 29, 2013
For an old-fashioned crime thriller, you need real pros. Mr. Statham is to acting what Taco Bell is to nutrition. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 25, 2013
This Parker spits in our collective eye. Don't blame us for spitting back. Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJan 25, 2013
This newest film is an undercooked potboiler, one so tastelessly bland and visually indistinguishable that you wonder if anyone associated with the project realized what makes cheapo crime fiction so fun to consume. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJan 30, 2013
I have never doodled during a movie before in my life, but holy hell, Parker's two-hour running time takes a lifetime. Plenty of time for mental doodling, too. Read full review
20
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJan 25, 2013
The smidgen of dramatic color offered by Jennifer Lopez, as a divorced real-estate broker drawn into Parker's payback scheme, is offset by her character's shocking naïveté, shedding her clothes on command (as if she still couldn't hide a wire somewhere) and falling unconvincingly for Statham's featureless cipher. Read full review
More From This Movie

42 Critic Reviews

6.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 82 The Northman
2 81 Everything Everywhere All at Once
3 78 X
4 72 7 Days
5 72 Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL