171 - Redemption

    A former military man is homeless, and a fortunate turn of events gives him the opportunity to turn his life around, sort of.
    This is a moderately paced drama, starring Jason Statham.  It's hard to say that it's an action movie, although it has a few sequences of action, they all take a backseat to the dramatic elements.  This is a more comprehensive version of the plot - Statham plays an AWOL soldier that has some PTSD elements.  He finds an unoccupied apartment, and lives out of it for a time.  He becomes an enforcer for gang, collecting money, delivering drugs, and so forth.  He saves much of his money, but also takes the opportunity to do good for people he knows.  He defends other homeless against gang members, he has better food served rather than the free soup that was being dished out.  He investigates the death of a friend of his at the hand of a violent John.
    The slower pacing, especially at the beginning, makes it a little harder for some people, but it's a pretty interesting story.  The biggest mystery - what happened in Afghanistan - seems like the least interesting part of the movie.  The character has a need to put things right, even if he has to be unethical in order to do it.
    By the end, he's a much more complex character, and I admire that Statham was able to take on a role that required a different approach.

    The title of this movie is Redemption, at least only for US release.  In the UK, it's Hummingbird.  In France, it was titled Crazy Joe.  Hummingbird is actually the best title, but it isn't something that would stir up as much interest in this kind of story.  Crazy Joe is a pretty terrible title.