So finally broke down and purchased (since it’s not available for rent and it costs as much as the other Covid-19 released movies available as rentals) the Vin Diesel sci-fi action flick Bloodshot. Bought it on AMC Theaters on Demand but it’s available on most other pay streaming services… if you must. You musn’t though.
Bloodshot is about an American soldier killed in action and brought back to life via nanotechnology by a corporation run by Guy Pierce. Diesel doesn’t have his (classified) memories but he does have super strength and electronic hacking skills… and when one of his memories returns, he goes rogue to take revenge on the man what killed him.
Thankfully there’s more to the story than that but the movie doesn’t think you know… even when the trailers gave away everything away. So I wound up watching a movie that thought it was smarter than me about a big lummox of a guy who is dumber than me floundering around a mystery that was already spoiled. So whatever intrigue might have existed in this otherwise knuckle-dragging, low-forehead throwback action flick was ruined. Maybe you would go in ignorant… and maybe the surprises would be real surprises. I can’t say.
I can say that the premise of the movie is intriguing, if not original in the least. But the flick has no interest in the theme or the gravity of resurrection. It’s just an excuse to give Vin Diesel super powers and have smash through every action scene with no skill, agility, or charm (but not without harm… it’s just that his nanobot blood insta-heals everything no problem). As a pure dumb action film, some of the set pieces are ok but they are filmed to be cool… and they just aren’t that cool. Nothing more eye-rolling than a movie so self-confident in how badass it is failing to actually be badass. It’s been done before and much better… so we just wind up watching an actor who often thinks he’s cooler than he is slow-mo his way through a bunch of hum-drum action set pieces.
I’m sure there’s something here for you if you don’t really care if they actually do anything interesting with their existential premise or don’t really care if the action is inspired, creative, or original. For me, I need more than this and the movie just feels two decades out of date, redoing action done better (and worse) in the 90s. It doesn’t help that Vin Diesel, who has some talents, often tries too hard to flounder himself into a new action franchise. And this one won’t be it (again).
Score: 67