‘BLOODSHOT’ Review

Let’s be honest about something. Vin Diesel and action movies are kind of like peanut butter and jelly. It’s really hard to think about one without the other. Over the past 20 years, Vin Diesel has made a cottage industry for himself playing muscular impossible to kill anti-heroes. So it really is no wonder then when Sony decided that they wanted to tackle the Valiant property Bloodshot, he was an obvious choice for the title role. And although development hell set in with 2 directors turning the project down, they finally found footing with first-time director Dave Wilson. Paired with Kick-Ass 2 writer Jeff Wadlow and Lights Out writer Eric Heisserer, the foursome set out to paint a story.

Here’s the rub: it’s kind of a dull story. Bloodshot is the story of Ray Garrison, a soldier who was brought back to life and augmented with nanobots which make him practically indestructible. In our specific story, he sets out to find the killer of him and his wife and avenge both deaths. But as with most movies of the type, not everything is what it seems. I find two things at the outset of reviewing this movie: The story isn’t that original and I think all involved know it. The fact is that this movie does not in any way take itself too seriously. I think that the movie was built with a knowledge of what it is: fun trash.

The acting is exactly what you expect. Most do really well and Vin Diesel is basically Vin Diesel. There is a certain comfort to know he doesn’t change as an actor. I also think that to its credit, the movie takes full advantage of the sci-fi and larger than life elements and augments the crap out of them. Some of the fight scenes are really well done, and others are just fun to look at. But the thing is this movie doesn’t need to win an Oscar or have a deep message. It’s fun to watch and that’s really what matters.

The music, sets, and effects are all top-notch and paint a picture of this future world where people can become something much bigger than ever before. I particularly like the characterizations that occurred. While Diesel’s character doesn’t grow much, several others in the movie do. This is to the movie’s credit in full force. And the movie is actually funny. The jokes land and this is a movie you want to watch just to veg out. It’s no wonder that the company behind this movie, Original Film, has its hands also in Diesel’s other franchise Fast and the Furious. It’s very much the same vibe and accomplishes the same goal. It isn’t going to be the next Ben-Hur, but it’ll do its job of letting you escape for a while. With a movie like this, it’s exactly what you want and exactly what you get. It’s not deep, but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.

BLOODSHOT is in theatres now!