If they gave awards for versatility, surely one would go to Dwayne Johnson, the erstwhile wrestler once known as The Rock. In the space of 10 months he has gone from donning a tutu for the title role in the kid-friendly “The Tooth Fairy” to playing a cold-blooded killer in the desultory and silly revenge thriller “Faster.”
Identified as “Driver,” Johnson’s character, released from prison after a 10-year stretch, sets out to eliminate those who put him there — and, more importantly, killed his brother in the wake of a bank robbery.
Driver’s killing spree quickly attracts the attention of “Cop” (Billy Bob Thornton), a detective who’s scheduled to retire in 10 days after decades of working the mean streets of Bakersfield, Calif. That Cop, who has a drug problem and a reluctant partner (Carla Gugino), might have more than a strictly professional interest in the case is apparent after roughly 10 seconds.
The third main character is Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a “pretty” (in the film’s words) Internet billionaire who tries to ward off boredom by taking pro bono hit jobs — in this case, he’s been hired to take out Driver by one of his potential victims.
Many bullets are expended and much rubber is burned in “Faster,” one of those movies where the characters have convoluted back stories that are often unintentionally funny. Despite much effort, neither Johnson nor director George Tillman Jr. (“Notorious”) can make this preposterous tale, the latest misfire from CBS Films, live up to its title.