Taglines: To get away clean, you have to play dirty.
Parker is a thief who has an unusual code. He doesn’t steal from the poor and hurt innocent people. He is asked to join 4 other guys on a job. They pull it off flawlessly. They tell Parker that what they got can help them set up another job which will net them much more. But Parker doesn’t want to join them and asks for his share. But they need it all so they try to kill him. They dispose of his body but someone finds him and he is still alive and takes him to the hospital.
After recovering he sets out to get back at the ones who tried to kill him, another one of his codes. Despite being told that they are working for a known mobster which he was not aware of, he still wants to go after them. He learns where they are and poses as a wealthy Texan looking to buy a house. So he hires a real estate agent, Leslie Rogers to show him around. He is actually trying to find out where they’re holed up. And when he finds it, he sets out on his plan to get them. But when they learn he is alive,
Primarily set in Palm Beach, Florida, the film revolves around professional thief Parker (Statham), who is double-crossed by his crew. He sets out for revenge on them, travelling to Palm Beach, where he enlists the help of Leslie (Lopez), who assists him in a quest to steal what his former crew, headed by a man named Melander (Michael Chiklis), rob in their jewelry auction heist. As the story develops, Leslie falls for Parker, who remains faithful to his girlfriend Claire (Emma Booth).
Parker marked a departure in Hackford’s career, as he had hoped to make it his first film noir. The film, produced on a “mid-30s” budget, was conceived following Westlake’s 2008 death, when producer Les Alexander secured the rights to it.
It premiered in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 24, 2013, and was released in the United States on January 25. Reviews were generally mixed, leaning towards the negative, with many film critics feeling that it was a poor adaptation of the book, and typical of Statham’s sub-par action films of the past few years. Others found Statham well-fitted for the role of Parker and praised Lopez for providing comedic relief. It grossed $46.2 million worldwide at the box office.
About the Story (2013)
Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief, specializing in planning big robberies. His mentor Hurley (Nick Nolte) asks him to do a job with a crew he doesn’t know, consisting of Melander (Michael Chiklis), Carlson (Wendell Pierce), Ross (Clifton Collins Jr.), and Hardwicke (Michah Hauptman). The job, taking the gate money from the Ohio State Fair, is successful, but a man is needlessly killed in a fire set as a distraction.
Parker, disgusted with the crew’s unprofessional standards, refuses to participate in another robbery that could net them millions. Needing his share of the loot to finance the bigger job, and fearing he might take revenge, the crew decides to shoot Parker and leave him to die alongside a road. Not as badly injured as they believed, he is found by a family of tomato farmers who take him to the hospital, where he subdues a male nurse, steals his uniform, and escapes. He then robs a check-cashing store, shooting one proprietor in the leg and stealing a woman’s car.
Parker tells Hurley that he wants to go after the double-crossing Melander, whom he discovers is in Palm Beach, Florida for another heist. On learning that Parker is alive, the crew uses their mob connections to hire a hitman named Kroll (Daniel Bernhardt). He tries to kidnap Parker’s girlfriend Claire (Emma Booth). She narrowly escapes and goes into hiding at a Fish Camp. Hurley, who is Claire’s father, is worried and suggests Parker run away with her, but he refuses, completely intent on revenge against Melander.
Parker poses in Palm Beach as a rich Texan named Daniel Parmitt, looking for a place to live. Leslie Rodgers (Jennifer Lopez) is a depressed, unsuccessful real-estate agent living with her mother (Patti LuPone), struggling financially after a divorce. She is thrilled when Parker (as Parmitt) appears to become interested in her properties because she is desperate for a commission.
Leslie soon becomes suspicious when Parker shows interest only in a house that a man named Rodrigo recently purchased and is remodelling. In reality, Rodrigo is Melander, staying in the house with the crew in anticipation of a $50 million jewelry auction they plan to rob. Leslie eventually finds out that Parker is using a fake identity. She offers her knowledge of the area in exchange for a commission. He considers it only after making her strip to show she isn’t wearing a wire. Together, they plan to steal the jewels from Melander after he robs them from the auction. Leslie makes a pass at Parker, but he remains distant, though obviously attracted to her.
Parker (2013)
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Michael Chiklis, Sala Baker, Emma Booth
Screenplay by: John McLaughlin, Donald E. Westlake
Production Design by: Missy Stewart
Cinematography by: James M. Muro
Film Editing by: Mark Warner
Costume Design by: Melissa Bruning
Set Decoration by: Maria Nay
Art Direction by: Mara LePere-Schloop
Music by: David Buckley
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language throughout and brief sexual content / nudity.
Studio: FilmDistrict
Release Date: January 25, 2013
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