Red Band 'Homefront' Trailer -- Not What I Was Expecting

'Homefront' doesn't pull its punches but the violence is so graphic you have to wonder whether it's necessary, and whether people want to see this.

Not that I'm against violence in movies. I'm for it when it's done responsibly and, with a cast of this caliber (Winona Ryder, James Franco, Kate Bosworth), you might have reason to believe this is gritty because it has to go there, has to have a certain verisimilitude, or risk looking cheap. The violence in this movie may be integral to character, needed for story, or it may be eye candy, though I have to admit, that seems unlikely.

Jason Statham is the wild card. Does his involvement mean 'Homefront' is just another in a long line of superficial action flicks? If not, if this is a crafted story, 'Homefront' would represent something of a turning point for his career. Perhaps not a bad thing. You can't help but wonder how long he can keep doing the same role. For me, it would be pretty cool if Statham has decided to do pieces with solid character. I've always thought he could and sensed he wants to.

Director Gary Fleder has been doing TV for a while but back in the day, with 'Kiss the Girls' and 'What to do in Denver When You're Dead', he had a flare for edgy plots. I was surprised to see that, along with first-time screenwriter Chuck Logan (who wrote the novel of the same name), Sylvester Stallone is a credited writer. Sly can handle touchy character-driven stuff -- 'Rocky' had believable rhythm -- but he can also pen some pure action movies which are devoid of any depth, like 'Expendables', 'Cobra', etc. To be fair, though, such movies are expected to be free of character development.

We read about horrible crimes in the paper every day, but conventions of plot and story in movies demand a reason to have such hardcore violence. You can't just toss that in. If the violence depicted is supported by characters we care about this will be a new kind of Statham movie.

The first trailer made 'Homefront' look like a pure formulaic B-thriller (precisely because it did not show graphic violence), but with this new trailer it's difficult to tell which way the story will go. 'Homefront' could, in fact, be another by-the-numbers Statham shoot-em-up which will not be memorable in any way, or it could be something new for him. 'Homefront' might be a movie that's perhaps difficult to watch but well worth it in the end, something that will have meaning and stay with the viewer, and I wasn't expecting that.