After Taken , all retired dads find their mojo by rescuing their teenage daughters from the scum of the world.
While the other dads were on the side of the angels (sort of), Paul in The Prince is a gangster and assassin. Known as Prince, Paul was part of a violent gang war in New Orleans, which ended with rival crime lord Omar’s wife and little girl being killed in a car bomb meant for Omar.
Paul sobers up, leaves New Orleans, marries and has a daughter, Beth.
Twenty years later, the wife is dead of leukaemia and Beth is in college.
When Beth is suddenly untraceable, Paul lands up in her apartment only to realise Beth is into drugs and living with a shady drug dealer in New Orleans.
So now he has to go back to his old hunting ground, where Omar is baying for his blood to rescue his daughter.
The movie is tired with lame lines and lamer actors. Bruce Willis as Omar and John Cusack as his rival, Sam, sleepwalk through their roles. The Korean superstar, Rain, who we last saw in the horrid Ninja Assassin , plays Mark, Omar’s muscle man in sharp suits and eyeliner.
Jason Patric wears tattoos to show how tough he is as Paul, while Jessica Lowndes as Angela (Beth’s friend) is a study in bad acting — pout, pole dancing and all. The only thing interesting about 50 Cent is his name in the film, The Pharmacy. Nothing can save The Prince — not the stars, shootouts, voiceovers, flashbacks or tough lines.
