Bloodshot
Reviews
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
In one of the most mediocre movies so far this year, “Bloodshot” squanders every last positive thing it has going for it. Based on the bestselling sci-fi comic book, the film tells the story of recently killed soldier Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) who is brought back to life as a super-assassin. Ray has an army of nanotechnology in his veins, making him an outrageously strong, unstoppable force who has the ability to instantly heal any injuries he sustains in combat. When his memories begin to contradict what’s reality and what’s fiction, Ray starts to suspect lead scientist Dr. Harting (Guy Pearce) may have sinister intentions — and he does everything in his superhuman power to stop him. The film lacks enough material for a feature length film, and it feels like the story has been stretched out from the get-go. The plot is far-fetched but interesting, yet the best elements are dismissed in a rushed fashion. The film could’ve gone one of two ways, and it chooses the path of greatest disappointment, which leaves it in this weird limbo. It’s not quite smart enough and not quite dumb enough to work. Like when director Dave Wilson gets the sense that things are lagging, he inserts a not-so-subtle explosion or dick joke to keep things moving along. Yeah, it’s that kind of bad. Even the action scenes fall victim to rapid-fire editing that is intended to disguise the bloodless PG-13 action flick. There’s an almost-satisfying extended fight sequence involving elevators and a skyscraper, but it comes late in the film when most audiences will likely have already lost interest. Even worse, there are no consequences because Ray can’t be hurt or killed, and the special effects look like they were created in a couple of hours by a pre-teen boy on the family room laptop. Diesel is not a great actor, but that’s never been a job requirement to bring the charismatic, cinematic muscle to the big screen. He’s a perfectly acceptable action star, but here he turns in a laughably bad performance. His poor acting hogs the spotlight, especially when he shares scenes opposite the talented Pearce. This movie is absolute junk that will die a quick death at the box office. Please, audiences: do your part to put “Bloodshot” out of its misery.
Manuel São Bento
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com First of all, no. I've never read the comic book, so I didn't know a single thing about the superhero Bloodshot going in. What I did know was that Jeff Wadlow was in command of the screenplay, and we all know how extremely horrible his latest movies are (Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island). Add Vin Diesel as the protagonist and a first-time director (David S. F. Wilson), it's impossible to have high expectations for such a film, no matter how good the source material is. Maybe it could surprise me and end up being a reasonably decent flick... It didn't. Bloodshot is even worse than I expected. I genuinely thought that the action would be the movie's savior. I didn't watch any trailers, as usual, but I did see an image here and there of that red smoke, as well as a couple of glances at the regenerating CGI. Honestly, it's the most disappointing aspect of the whole film. Simply because it's the only thing I was expecting to be decent, at least. The "final battle" has some of the worst CGI of the century, and it goes on for way too long. There's an abundance of shaky-cam, the editing is truly awful at times, a lot of action sequences are barely understandable, and even the slow-motion is overused. However, the reason why the movie ultimately fails is, once again, due to Wadlow's screenplay (which he co-wrote with Eric Heisserer, but Wadlow is the main one). As always, his narrative is a total mess. Confusing, lacks creativity, raises tons of logical questions, and the real past of Ray Garrison is empty of any explanation. The ending is not only predictable and formulaic, but it also generates even more questions, leaving the viewer frustrated with so many unanswered plot points. David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (both have Deadpool and John Wick in their filmography) left the project right after being hired as the directors... I wonder why?! The first minutes are probably the best of the entire runtime. I mean, excluding a not-sexy-at-all scene featuring Vin Diesel and Talulah Riley (Gina Garrison). That was cringe-worthy. Nevertheless, the story's concept is really captivating, to say the least (or the comic book wouldn't have its remarkable success). It's one of those action flicks that could easily turn into a successful franchise if the people involved in the project are more talented. With this, I transition to another of my main issues: Vin Diesel. Very rarely, I negatively criticize an actor's performance. I admit that I'm easily pleased by any cast. If you ask me "what's an actor/actress you don't like?", I would probably be stuck for an answer. Diesel's display is so emotionless that even someone like me can be affected by it. Besides being a rock throughout the whole film, Diesel has this weird habit of TALKING VERY LOUD AND CLEAR, only to instantly lower his volume so much that he's almost whispering. He does this consecutively and repeatedly in almost every dialogue. There's no care for developing a single character, not even the protagonist. Everyone is just a stereotype of some secondary action character: the funny IT guy, the hot girl who develops feelings for the hero, the male teammate who gets jealous that his alpha territory gets invaded, and the "motivation-less bad guy who's made look like a good guy in the beginning, but we all know who he truly is"... Literally, the two most talented actors (Toby Kebbell and Talulah Riley) are the ones with the least amount of screentime. In the end, Bloodshot is even worse than I expected. The messy, formulaic, and logically questionable screenplay by Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer is the worst aspect of the movie, but the action is undoubtedly the most disappointing one. The "final fight" is one of the worst CGI sequences of the century, and the action throughout the runtime is filled with an uncontrollable shaky-cam, an excess of slow-motion, and some poor editing, making most of these scenes incredibly hard to follow. Vin Diesel delivers as much emotion as a rock, and while the rest of the cast is fine, the characters follow every single stereotype ever written for an action flick. It also doesn't help to put a first-time director in charge of the whole thing, but David S. F. Wilson is far from being the one to blame. Occasionally good action moments and a great concept just barely keep the film breathing. It's one of the worst movies of the year. Rating: D
Gimly
I really disliked the ending, but the first fight scene also was some of that straight-up injectable #TheAesthetic shit. Those two kind of cancel each other out, and the rest of the movie I was pretty middle of the road on, so I guess the whole thing averaged out to 2.5 outta 5. Maybe it would have been a better experience on the big screen, but we aren't allowed to do that anymore, so, sorry Bloodshot but, you're stuck with a moderately-favourable "meh". _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._
Kamurai
Good watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend. I had to watch this twice just to make sure I followed it correctly. I was pretty tired the first time, and there is a lot of alternating between whispering / hushed tones and loud gunfire. This movie does a lot of good visual action and effects, some stuff I don't think I've ever seen on screen before, it's well cast and the production value is through the roof, but I can't say that it's all that good a story. It's definitely an interesting story, but the movie seeming radically torn between being a promotion of technological power and fear mongering, and the fear mongering bit always irks me because it gets in the way of real progress because someone want to tell a story one way versus another. The majority of the movie you can see in other movies like any of the movies with Wolverine, "Extraction" (2020), but there are some special bits that make it stand out. I just don't feel like I care about the action that is happening. When you see someone explode a watermelon, yeah it's cool, but why are you doing it, why are you taking 2 hours to do it? This is a good one-shot, just put it in the queue for when you want to see an action flick.
tmdb28039023
Bloodshot is an unexpectedly intelligent and patient sci-fi film. It spends its entire first half persuading us that it's just another dumb action movie, and right when we're convinced that that's exactly what it is, it pulls the rug out from under us and reveals that it was all just a ruse before establishing its true premise, and it does this with such skill that we can't stay mad at it for having fooled us so thoroughly. It's like one of those Russian dolls, only instead of having another, smaller doll inside, it has is a much more complex and satisfying movie. All we see up to the halfway point is utterly generic, and Bloodshot knows it (“You've already copied every movie cliché there is. I think “Psycho Killer and a lunatic dancing in a slaughterhouse is enough”). Vin Diesel's character is a Frankenstein monster made from parts of Neo, Robocop, the Universal Soldier, Wolverine, and the T-1000. After conveniently listening, just once, to a trigger song, he regains his lost memory – and not in bits and pieces; like Celine Dion, it's all coming back to him now. Without even a training montage in between, Diesel employs his many new skills so expertly that he exacts revenge on his and his wife's killers with over an hour left to go. What Bloodshot does is take the expression 'a pig in a poke' and turn it 180 degrees. Director David S.F. Wilson and screenwriters Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer aren't really copying action movie clichés but playing with them – subverting them for their own benefit, and the audience's as well. I was so pleasantly surprised that I'm willing to look at the silver lining on a couple of things. 1) the hero is an indestructible, unstoppable one-man army, killing machine – i.e., same old, same old except that Diesel, unlike many contemporary action heroes, has an actual personality and can be introspective. 2) a sequence towards the end, where the protagonist fights a couple of baddies, deliberately looks like a video game cutscene, but it's still better than watching someone else play a video game. And 3) there are the dreaded comic sidekick and romantic subplot, but the former is tolerable, and the latter is subtle and unintrusive. All things considered, Bloodshot's biggest flaw is that it's supposed to be the first installment in a series of movies set in the Valiant Comics shared cinematic universe (oddly, though it's based on the character Bloodshot, that name is never uttered in the film; I imagine they're leaving it for the inevitable sequel, as well as the merely hinted at romance between the male and female leads). The first movie in a franchise is almost always the best of the bunch, but Bloodshot is good on its own.
Andre Gonzales
I thought this would have been better then what it was. He gets murdered and they bring him back to life as a super soldier. I'm sure part 2 will be better.
Movie Recommendation
Bad Boys for Life2020-01-15Marcus and Mike are forced to confront new threats, career changes, and midlife crises as they join the newly created elite team AMMO of the Miami police department to take down the ruthless Armando Armas, the vicious leader of a Miami drug cartel.More...
The Invisible Man2020-02-26When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.More...
Underwater2020-01-08After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.More...
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)2020-02-05Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.More...
Extraction2020-04-23A hardened gun-for-hire's latest mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.More...
Onward2020-02-29In a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there.More...
Dolittle2020-01-02After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.More...
Sonic the Hedgehog2020-02-12Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.More...
The Hunt2020-03-11Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are—or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted turns the tables on her pursuers.More...
Jumanji: The Next Level2019-12-04As the gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.More...
Superman: Red Son2020-02-24Set in the thick of the Cold War, Red Son introduces us to a Superman who landed in the USSR during the 1950s and grows up to become a Soviet symbol that fights for the preservation of Stalin’s brand of communism.More...
Fantasy Island2020-02-12A group of contest winners arrive at an island hotel to live out their dreams, only to find themselves trapped in nightmare scenarios.More...
21 Bridges2019-10-24An embattled NYPD detective, is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is pursuing, and who is in pursuit of him.More...
Terminator: Dark Fate2019-10-23Decades after Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, a lethal new Terminator is sent to eliminate the future leader of the resistance. In a fight to save mankind, battle-hardened Sarah Connor teams up with an unexpected ally and an enhanced super soldier to stop the deadliest Terminator yet.More...
The Occupant2020-03-25An unemployed executive is forced to sell his apartment. When he discovers that he still has the keys, he becomes obsessed with the family that now lives there and decides to recover the life he has lost, at any price.More...
The Gentlemen2020-01-01American expat Mickey Pearson has built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.More...
Gemini Man2019-10-02Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.More...
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw2019-08-01Ever since US Diplomatic Security Service Agent Hobbs and lawless outcast Shaw first faced off, they just have traded smack talk and body blows. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton's ruthless actions threaten the future of humanity, they join forces to defeat him.More...
19172019-12-25At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.More...
The Call of the Wild2020-02-19Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team—and later its leader—Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.More...
Similar Movies
Oldboy
2003-11-21With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.Aliens
1986-07-18Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.V for Vendetta
2006-02-23In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.Spider-Man
2002-05-01After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.Spider-Man 2
2004-06-25Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...Spider-Man 3
2007-05-01The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.Constantine
2005-02-08John Constantine has literally been to Hell and back. When he teams up with a policewoman to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.Die Hard
1988-07-15NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.Starship Troopers
1997-11-07Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."Dances with Wolves
1990-03-30Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.Men in Black
1997-07-02After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.Men in Black II
2002-07-03Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.The Wizard of Oz
1939-08-15Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.Dirty Harry
1971-12-23When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.I.S.S.
2024-01-19Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a conflict breaks out on Earth. U.S. and Russian astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.Ghost Rider
2007-01-15In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephistopheles and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson, the love of his life. Years later, Johnny's path crosses again with Roxanne, now a go-getting reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny's soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery 'Ghost Rider'.300
2007-03-07Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, "300" is very loosely based the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians; the battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world's first democracy.TMNT
2007-03-23After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter, becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City.Avengers Confidential...
2014-04-19When the Punisher takes out a black-market weapons dealer, he stumbles upon a far-reaching terrorist plot devised by a group known as Leviathan.Term Life
2016-04-29If Nick Barrow can stay alive for 21 days, he'll die happy. Everyone Nick knows wants him dead; Mob bosses, contract killers, and dirty cops. Performing the last act of a desperate man, Nick takes out a million dollar insurance policy on himself, payable to his estranged daughter. The problem? The policy doesn't take effect for 21 days. Nick knows they'll be lucky to be alive for twenty-one hours.