Homefront (2013 film)

Homefront is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and written by Sylvester Stallone, who also produced the film with Kevin King Templeton and John Thompson. The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Logan, stars Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder and Kate Bosworth. In the film, Phil Broker, a retired DEA agent, leads a peaceful life with his daughter Maddy, but trouble ensues as Broker and Maddy gets entangled with Gator, a crime boss, due to a school bullying incident.

Homefront
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gary Fleder
Screenplay by	Sylvester Stallone
Based on	Homefront by Chuck Logan
Produced by	Sylvester Stallone Kevin King Templeton John Thompson
Starring	Jason Statham James Franco Winona Ryder Kate Bosworth Rachelle Lefevre Frank Grillo Clancy Brown Izabela Vidovic
Cinematography	Theo van de Sande
Edited by	Padraic McKinley
Music by	Mark Isham
Production companies	Endgame Entertainment Millennium Films Nu Image
Distributed by	Open Road Films
Release date	November 27, 2013 (2013-11-27) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$22 million
Box office	$51.7 million

Filming began on October 1, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Homefront was released on November 27, 2013.

Plot

Phil Broker, a DEA agent, raids a methamphetamine lab owned by Danny T, a biker gang boss, and retires from the agency. Broker moves to a small Louisiana town with his daughter Maddy. One day, Maddy gets into a schoolyard fight with a bully, Teddy Klum, and Broker is called to her school. As they prepare to return home, Teddy's mother Cassie instigates a fight between her husband and Broker, which Broker wins easily. An enraged Cassie asks her brother Gator, a crime boss running a meth lab, to intimidate Broker.

While working, Broker's friend Teedo warns him that the locals might engage in an old-school fight and not to trust them. When Broker and Maddy go horseback riding, Gator breaks into their house, kidnaps Maddy's cat Luther, and finds old DEA personnel files. Gator discovers that Broker was responsible for Danny T's arrest, which resulted in the death of Danny T's son. Hoping to expand his influence, Gator and his girlfriend Sheryl tip off Danny T, who sends members of his gang to kill Broker.

Meanwhile, Broker attempts to smooth over the situation with Teddy's family, and Maddy invites Teddy to her birthday party. As tensions between the two families slowly ease, with Teddy and Maddy even becoming friends, Gator warns Cassie to stay away from Broker. Broker's DEA contacts warn him that Gator may be involved with Danny T. Later, Broker heads to Gator's meth lab and sets traps, but he is subdued and tortured by Gator's thugs. Broker manages to escape, defeat his captors, and recover Luther. However, before he and Maddy can leave town, the gang members and Sheryl arrive. Though Broker ambushes and kills most of the gang members, Teedo gets injured while warning Broker and Maddy.

During the firefight Sheryl kidnaps Maddy in a boat, who uses her dad's cell phone to call Broker. From Maddy's descriptions, Broker realizes that Maddy has been taken to Gator's meth lab. Cassie arrives at Gator's warehouse after hearing news of the gunfight, where she is horrified to find Maddy there. Cassie angrily confronts Gator and demands to release Maddy, before accidentally setting off Broker's traps and causing the entire building to explode into flames. Disgusted with her brother, Cassie attempts to flee with Maddy, leading to a struggle in which Gator accidentally shoots Cassie.

Gator flees with Maddy in his truck, with Broker in pursuit. When Broker crashes his car, Gator prepares to shoot him, but is distracted by Maddy whom he attempts to force back into his truck. Taking advantage of the distraction, Broker frees himself and savagely beats Gator before reuniting with Maddy. Gator and Sheryl are arrested, while Teedo and Cassie are taken to the hospital. Later, Broker visits Danny T in prison, letting him know that he will be around when Danny T is eventually released.

Cast

• Jason Statham as Phil Broker
• James Franco as Morgan "Gator" Bodine
• Winona Ryder as Sheryl Marie Mott
• Kate Bosworth as Cassie Bodine Klum
• Rachelle Lefevre as Susan Hetch
• Frank Grillo as Cyrus Hanks
• Clancy Brown as Sheriff Keith Rodrigue
• Izabela Vidovic as Maddy Broker

In addition, Marcus Hester portrays Jimmy Klum, Omar Benson Miller plays Teedo, and Chuck Zito appears as "Danny T" Turrie.

Production

Sylvester Stallone wrote the script, which is based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Logan. The film was originally intended to have Stallone in the lead role, but Stallone stayed on as the producer and passed on the lead role to Jason Statham.

Reception

Box office

Homefront grossed $20.2 million in the United States and Canada and $31.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $51.7 million, against a budget of $22 million. It opened at number 5 at the US box office in its first weekend, and spent its first three weekends in the top 10 at the US box office.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 42% of 116 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "While it boasts a capable cast, the disappointingly dull Homefront hearkens back to classic action thrillers without adding anything to the genre." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Scott Foundas of Variety notes the reliable presence of Statham, but blames director Gary Fleder for "making an incoherent jumble of most of the action scenes". He calls Bosworth's performance the film's "greatest surprise", and Franco's performance as its "biggest disappointment". Foundas calls the film "surprisingly joyless" and "less than the sum of its parts."

External links

• Homefront at IMDb