A mild-mannered upper middle class business executive takes on a gang that killed his son. Kevin Bacon plays the lead character of Nick Hume. Home movies show the happy family of his wife Helen (played by Kelly Preston), his young son Lucas (played by Jordan Garrett) and his other older son Brendan (played by Stuart Lafferty). Nick goes with his son Brendan to play an out-of-town hockey game. On the way back from the game Nick sees too cars racing down the road in the opposite direction coming toward him with their lights off. He flashes his lights to let them know their headlights are off. They stop at a gas station in a rundown part of town. The same two cars drive up. Guys with weapons get out. They attempt to rob the store while Brendan is in it. The store clerk goes for his gun. They shoot him. The gang leader tells one of the other men to kill Brendan with a machete. He cuts him across the neck. They laugh and drive off abandoning him. Nick comes to help, he knocks the attacker to the ground, pulling off his mask so he gets a good look at his face, but he succeeds in getting away. He runs into the street looking for the cars that already left. He is hit by another vehicle. Nick rushes to Brendan who is dying on the floor. Nick gets him to the hospital, but he dies.
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The guy hit by the car is in a police lineup. Nick recognizes him. He is Joe Darley (played by Matt O'Leary). Nick will testify against him. The prosecuting attorney tells Nick they will make a deal if they can scare Darley into changing his plea to guilty by offering him three to five years. Nick learns it was a random killing for Darley to be able to join a gang. The prosecuting attorney tells Nick, they will not go to trial with the case for murder because he is the only witness and there is no video surveillance tape of the incident. Nick stares at Darley intensely in the courtroom. Darley points a finger back to pretend to shoot him. When it is Nick's moment to swear before the judge his testimony about the murder, he recounts and says he cannot remember.
Nick watches the gang when they have the nerve to drive up both cars to pick up Darley when he is released. He follows them back to the projects . They drop Darley off with a prostitute, then drive away. Nick goes home to get a weapon. He searches the shed. He finds a large bowie knife. His son Lucas finds him in the shed. His wife asks what happened. He tells her they let him go. He lies saying he was not sure it was the correct man. He goes back to the projects, waits for the guy to come out. Darley comes out to dump the trash. Nick goes after him. He is seen by a woman, who comes out of the building and passes him. Nick attacks Darley. They struggle. Nick wins. Darley is stabbed. He dies. Nick takes back the murder weapon. He cleans it of his prints. He throws it in the river. Nick comes home bruised with a cut on his hand. His wife notices. He says he fell in the driveway. Lucas suspects something. Nick has a breakdown in the shower. His wife consoles him.
The gang leader goes to see Bones Darley (played by John Goodman) who is the main drug dealer they work for and is his father. Detective Wallis (played by Aisha Tyler) comes to Nick's office to tell him Darley was killed. She sees he has a bandage on one hand. The gang tries to figure out who killed Darley. One of the gang members says his sister saw a guy in a suit hanging around in front of the building. They figure out it was Nick who killed Darley. They ambush him when he comes out of work. They try to shoot him in broad daylight. He runs. They chase him down an alleyway. He runs through a restaurant. He runs through a parking lot. He sets off all the car alarms on many floors. He gets to the roof. One guy finds him. He attacks him first. They fight. He ties him with a seat belt in a car. The car rolls over the rail and crashes four floors below killing one of the men. Nick escapes in his car. He wife calls him, telling him his son Lucas is missing. He goes to the gas station where Brendan was shot. Lucas is there. Lucas thinks they would prefer he died instead of his brother.
One of the gang members, Bodie (played Aisha Tyler) comes to Nick's office delivering a package. Security throws him out of the building after he delivers it to Nick. In the package is Nick's briefcase, which he tossed away while running from them. It had his wallet in it. They know his wife, his other son, and where he lives. There is a phone number. He calls it. It is the gang leader Billy Darley (played by Garrett Hedlund) who tells Nick he will kill all his family. Nick calls Detective Wallis. The police go to Nick's house. Nick rushes home. Nick's wife and son are safe for the moment. Detective Wallis confronts Nick about starting a gang war. Nick's wife realizes what he has done. She says she supports him. The police stay in a car in front of the house. The police are killed. The gang enters the house. Nick fights off four of them, but there are eight. They capture Nick's wife and his son Lucas. They shoot Nick's wife and his son, then they shoot Nick. Nick appears dead, but does not die. He wakes in the hospital. Detective Wallis is in the hospital. She tells him he has to stop this war now. Then she tells him Lucas is still alive also. Lucas is in a coma in the same hospital a few rooms down. Nick goes to see him. He tells Lucas how much he loves him, and to move his finger if he hears him.
Nick escapes the hospital. Lucas stirs after he leaves. Lucas heard everything. He gets weapons. He finds out where the bar is located, which has the phone used by Billy Darley he call him on. He beats up the bartender and one customer. He finds out where Billy Darley hangs out. He also need guns. He buys them from Bones Darley not realizing they are related. Bones Darley pretends he does not know who he is. The bartender has tipped him off. Surprisingly Bones does not care if he kills his son, Bones thinks he is useless anyway.
Nick gets his weapons ready. He shaves his head. He tapes up his wounds. He goes to the projects on a mission to kill Billy Darley. He finds one of the gang members who tells him where Billy is. He makes him call Billy to them him Billy has a death sentence. Bones comes to tell his son, Nick is after him and how stupid he is. Billy shoots his own father for screaming at him. Nick finds another one of the gang in front of the abandoned building they use to make drugs and smashes into the van he is sitting in, killing him. He goes into the lab and kills all the gang members. There is a fierce gun battle. He kills Billy at the end. He drives back to his home to watch home movies of his family. Detective Wallis comes in to tell him his son Lucas moved and he is going to pull through.
Best part of story, including ending:
I like that Nick decides to take justice into his own hands.
Best scene in story:
The best scene is when Nick takes on all the gang because he is unstoppable.
Opinion about the main character:
Nick progresses from a simple guy into a cold-blooded killer which is interesting to watch.
