The general public, that strange amalgam of tribes and cliques (ooka chaka, ooka chaka!), will "get" this more so than those of the film intelligentsia among us. Bread and circuses prepared for and designed by Sly Stallone, no less (who might have an idea what the film going public wants after all this time), and gives it to them. And there are some surprises: Franco and Ryder are great as the bad guys (uhh, spoiler alert! sorry), squeaky clean Bosworth does better street ho than you could've imagined, and finally Statham, who's always a lone cowboy, pulls off caring dad with better chops than you would've thought possible.
All in all a pretty decent entertainment offering once one accepts that one is here to see some bad guys get seriously pounded into the ground.

This is a terrific and powerful movie. A hard-edged and explosive action-packed thriller. A total knockout of an action film. One of the years best action movies hands down. A strong and tough film that when is not shooting or blowing things up it packs a hard-hitting amount of riveting drama that feels very real and effective. Director, Gary Fleder gives a great energy to the material, crafting a fine heart-pounding film. Writer/Producer, Sylvester Stallone writes a deep, down and thrilling story that balances drama and action well. Stallone wrote the role specifically for Statham, giving him new reach and depth that he knew the action star could accomplish. Jason Statham is at his absolute best, he gives a powerful and surprisingly compassionate performance. Statham proves to be getting better as an actor, just improving with every performance. James Franco is excellent, finally dropping from his recent line of comedies and back to more serious territory and proving to be more than an exceptional match for Statham. I loved this movie, it is truly awesome and delivers big time. It's utterly thrilling, heart-pounding and sometimes deeply moving.