THE PRINCE (2014) ** ½

Jason Patric stars as a seemingly ordinary mechanic whose daughter (Gina Mantegna) disappears without a trace.  He gets her friend (Jessica Lowndes) to help him look for her down in New Orleans.  He quickly stirs up a shitstorm of attention from beating up pushers left and right, which catches the eye of mobster Bruce Willis.  Because of the Seemingly Unrelated but Very Important Opening Scene, we know the two have unfinished business together, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re on a collision course.  

The very appearance of Bruce Willis and John Cusack in a DTV movie often will be the subject of derision.  Both men have been accused of not giving a shit recently.  I can’t say it’s the best work of either of them, but they look like they’re trying a bit harder than they’ve been given credit for.  

Willis seems more engaged than he’s been in a while, especially in the early scenes with his young daughter.  He reverts to Scowling Bruce later in the film, but he stops short of going into cruise control.  Likewise, Cusack (who plays one of Patric’s old street cronies) tries a smidge harder than his recent output would suggest.  In most of his newer movies, he shows up wearing either a ballcap, sunglasses, or hoodie.  In The Prince, he sports a hoodie, but it stays down throughout the course of the picture.  That’s a metaphor for his effort or some shit.

Is it sad that I just spent an entire paragraph assuring you that two-thirds of the leading men are trying?  Probably.  To DTV devotees like myself, it’s a signpost of sorts to let you know the level of quality we’re dealing with.  As such, The Prince is better than expected  

Oh.  Would it surprise you that Jonathon Schaech and 50 Cent are also in this movie?  Probably not.

I haven’t even mentioned Patric, who is excellent.  He particularly excels in the first act where he goes all kinds of Taken on a bunch of hoods.  Some could accuse Willis and Cusack of phoning it in, but Patric came to fucking play.  He’s intense, brooding, and is quite credible in his ass-kicking scenes.

Director Brian A. Miller handles the various shootouts and fight scenes competently enough.  Only a rough looking car chase suffers from the typical DTV ADD over-editing and herky-jerky camerawork.  However, the second act doesn’t have the fire of the early scenes, and Patric’s final siege on Willis’ headquarters feels like a retread of the ending of ‘04’s The Punisher.  

Willis and Miller later reteamed for Vice and Reprisal.

  

AKA:  The Prince:  Only God Forgives.