Bloodshot (2020) (dvd film review).
Well, let’s be honest I enjoyed this film ‘Bloodshot’. It might upset a few people as it seems to pull in bits from a lot of other major SF films that have aired in the last 20 years. Perhaps longer, but it is an enjoyable action film nevertheless. It might even get to be regarded as one of Vin Diesel’s better films.
As usual I’m getting ahead of myself here. ‘Bloodshot’ is actually based on the comicbook ‘Valiant’ by Jeff Wadlow who co-wrote the screenplay. It stars Vin Diesel as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life by the RST corporation. ‘Bloodshot’ is directed by Dave Wilson, who keeps things moving at quite an energetic pace. Steve Jablonsky wrote the soundtrack which also mirrors the energetic pace of things on screen.
During his time err…not living, Garrison was heavily modified and augmented to make him a very effective killing machine. His blood is full of nanotechnology which quickly repairs any damage he may suffer and he does, quite a lot really. It also makes him very strong which is a bit of a bonus seeing as what the RST Corporation have lined up for him.
Perhaps the weakest thing about Garrison is his mind or to be more specific, his memories. This is something Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce) knows and takes full advantage of. As well as being evil, Harting is the boss of RST Corporation and he’s on a mission to eliminate the competition. Garrison is just Harting’s newest augmented recruit who joins Jimmy Dalton (Sam Heughan), KT (Eiza González) and Tibbs (Alex Hernandaz). After the shock of being resurrected wears off, Garrison’s memories of his last moments begin to surface. He and his wife were brutally murdered by a psychopath and as he puts 2 and 2 together and Garrison goes rogue with murder on his mind.
For me, this was the best part of the film as it was very well done. The special effects are very good but it’s Garrison and ours dawning realisation that things might not be what they seem that make it for me. Vin Diesel is actually at his best in this section of the film. Of course, what follows is an escalating trail of mayhem and destruction as Garrison sets about righting a few wrongs in his own imitable style. Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say about the plot without revealing an awful lot of spoilers.
This is not a low budget film. Just looking at the credits tells me that there are over 700 people involved in the creation of this film and probably a lot more that were not credited. Of all these hundreds of people could I just highlight Lindsay Skinner who’s credited as the ‘snake wrangler’. It might have been a dangerous activity as the next credit goes to Alton Stoffels, Health & Safety Advisor.
While I did enjoy this film, it suffers from two things. Firstly, while the running time is 1 hour and 49 minutes there are quite a few things which are glossed over or not fully explained. Why Harting embarks on his quest is a good example. No doubt this is explained in the comicbook but, for the film, there’s just not enough time. The character Wilfred Wigans is another example. There’s no time to give the character any depth.
The second thing is that there isn’t really anything new here, just a different twist on story elements you have seen before. In fact, I could see this as a game you could play while watching it – ‘that’s from the Matrix!’, ‘that’s from the…’. You get the idea.
While it would be easy to knock ‘Bloodshot’, don’t write it off. I found it very enjoyable to watch and the production quality was of such a high standard that it would not have looked out of place next to the Marvel Universe. One part of the film is set in England, so that’s got to be a good thing, too. The ending leaves room for more and I rather hope there is another one.
Of course, the big question is: would I watch it again? Yes, I would actually. Where’s the popcorn?
Andy Whitaker
June 2020
(pub: Sony Pictures. 1 DVD 105 minute film. Price: £ 9.99 (UK). B0844BFTR8)
cast: Vin Diesel, Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell and Talulah Riley
check out website: www.sonypictures.com/
