Statham plays same role with different name

By Christy Lemire
Associated Press

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 25, 2013

~~<p>"Parker" plays like the bloodiest promotional video ever made for Palm Beach tourism. Stabbings, explosions and furniture-smashing brawls occur at some of the ritziest (and name-checked) locations within the sun-splashed, pastel-soaked slab of Florida opulence. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the idea of The Breakers.</p>
<p>The city is the setting for an elaborate, $50 million jewel heist as well as some revenge doled out with the usual machinelike efficiency by Jason Statham. As the title character, the antihero of many of the novels by Richard Stark (the pseudonym of the late Donald E. Westlake), Statham is stepping into a well-known persona. But he's not exactly pushing himself outside his comfort zone; he's on auto-pilot here, despite the obvious physical demands of the part. Parker is the kind of thief who lives by a civilized, self-imposed code — one he expects others to adhere to, as well. But this is the same character Statham always plays: quietly cool, dryly British, powerfully lethal.</p>
<table width="25%" align="right" class="infoboxright_table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>‘PARKER’</strong><br />
<strong>Rated:</strong> R<br />
<img alt="*" src="http://media.staradvertiser.com/images/bullet_bluestar.gif" /><img alt="1/2" src="http://media.staradvertiser.com/images/bullet_bluehalfstar.gif" /><br />
Opens today</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
~~

"Parker" plays like the bloodiest promotional video ever made for Palm Beach tourism. Stabbings, explosions and furniture-smashing brawls occur at some of the ritziest (and name-checked) locations within the sun-splashed, pastel-soaked slab of Florida opulence. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the idea of The Breakers.

The city is the setting for an elaborate, $50 million jewel heist as well as some revenge doled out with the usual machinelike efficiency by Jason Statham. As the title character, the antihero of many of the novels by Richard Stark (the pseudonym of the late Donald E. Westlake), Statham is stepping into a well-known persona. But he's not exactly pushing himself outside his comfort zone; he's on auto-pilot here, despite the obvious physical demands of the part. Parker is the kind of thief who lives by a civilized, self-imposed code — one he expects others to adhere to, as well. But this is the same character Statham always plays: quietly cool, dryly British, powerfully lethal. ‘PARKER’ Rated: R Opens today Login for more...