A long time ago in a place far away (the 60s) there was a bestselling writer of thrillers who was at the top of his craft. But that was not enough for this writer, he had a secret urge to write a different kind of novel, a kind that really had been seen since the 1940s. Dark. Fast. Efficient. Lacking any moral center. And he did, using a pen name. "Richard Stark." They were called the Parker novels and they are considered today the best of their kind ever done. Even other writers go nuts for these. Then Hollywood came knocking. Attempting (repeat, attempting) to bring the essence of Parker to the screen, some 6 times so far. And succeeding -- maybe -- twice. The Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson versions were not half bad. Which brings us to the 2013 attempt. Yuck. You would almost suspect that the reason they chose a one-word title - "PARKER" -- is that, without the title, most people would not know or suspect the connection to the above-mentioned series. As a thriller, it is weak, boring, derivative and barely useful for cable. As a Parker entry, it is a bad joke. As a pre-audition by Jennifer Lopez (the older, slimmed-down version) to get the lead in a future biopic of the Natalie Wood Story, it is however compelling.
Review of Parker
