Review: Bloodshot is the solid escapist fare we could use right now

[Karlston]

Review: Bloodshot is the solid escapist fare we could use right now

Too bad all the theaters are closed. But you can buy it on March 24 for home viewing.

Vin Diesel stars as a marine brought back as a superhuman killing machine in Bloodshot.

 

Vin Diesel is having some rotten luck, professionally. First, mounting fears over the coronavirus led Universal to bump the much-anticipated Fast and Furious 9 until next year. Initially slated for an April 2019 release, it was rescheduled to make room for the 2019 spinoff film, Hobbs and Shaw, so an additional delay is extra frustration for franchise fans.

 

Then, the global pandemic helped sink the box office for the actor's star turn in the superhero action thriller Bloodshot, based on the Valiant Comics character of the same name. Along with The Hunt, the film debuted in theaters last weekend just as everything was shutting down nationwide, grossing around $11.5 million against a $45 million budget. It won't get a second weekend at all. And that's too bad, because Bloodshot is just the kind of escapist fare we could all use right about now.

 

Fortunately, Deadline reports that Columbia Pictures will release the film for electronic sell-through (as opposed to VOD) on March 24, 2020. Per a statement from Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group:

“Sony Pictures is firmly committed to theatrical exhibition and we support windowing. This is a unique and exceedingly rare circumstance where theaters have been required to close nationwide for the greater good and Bloodshot is abruptly unavailable in any medium. Audiences will now have the chance to own Bloodshot right away and see it at home, where we are all spending more time. We are confident that — like other businesses hit hard by the virus — movie theaters will bounce back strongly, and we will be there to support them.”

(Some spoilers below, but nothing that's not in the trailer.)

 

The character of Bloodshot is the creation of Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton in 1992, and the superhero is part of Valiant Comics' shared universe. In the comics, his original name was Angelo Mortalli, a former solider whose blood has been infused with tiny nanobots, called "nanites." This gives him extraordinary regenerative healing powers, as well as superior strength and the ability to shape-shift and easily interface with technology. He becomes the ultimate killing machine. The infusion process wipes out his memories, however, and Bloodshot is on a mission to recover his memories to discover who he really is—and to take revenge on those who did this to him.

 

First image of article image gallery. Please visit the source link to see all 9+ images.

 

The film adaptation marks the directorial debut of David S.F. Wilson, and Jared Leto was originally considered for the lead, before the studio settled on Diesel. (Leto will be starring in Morpheus later this year—coronavirus willing—and honestly seems to be a better fit for that role.) Per the official synopsis:

After he and his wife are suddenly assassinated, Marine Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) is brought back to life by a team of scientists. Enhanced with nanotechnology, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine—Bloodshot. As Ray first trains with fellow super-soldiers, he struggles to recall anything from his previous years. But when his memories flood back and he remembers the man that killed both him and his wife, he breaks out of the facility hellbent on revenge, only to discover that there’s more between what he originally feels and a conspiracy.

The twist—revealed in the trailer—is that the man who resurrected him, Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce) is deliberately wiping Ray's memories after each mission and rebooting him with false ones, the better to manipulate him into killing specific targets (mostly former colleagues who tried to leave the company over ethical qualms). Think The Punisher meets Memento. Ray manages to escape and finds an ally in tech wiz Wilfred Wigans, played by Lamorne Morris, who provides some much-needed comic relief. And of course, Bloodshot must eventually fight to the death against fellow super solider Jimmy Dalton (Sam Heughan, almost unrecognizable from the Outlander heart-throb role that made him famous).

 

Is Bloodshot a perfect film? Far from it, particularly in this cinematic golden age of superhero movies. There's nothing here we haven't seen before, no new twist or angle to make the story fresh. The plot is predictable, the fight scenes are fairly routine, and the beats follow the well-trodden superhero movie formula to a fault. But it's a solidly competent addition to the genre, and the visual effects with the nanites are pretty spectacular. Plenty of first-time directors have done far worse on their freshman outing, so kudos to Wilson for giving us an entertaining escape as we hunker down to beat back a pandemic.

 

Listing image by YouTube/Sony Pictures

 

 

Source: Review: Bloodshot is the solid escapist fare we could use right now (Ars Technica)  

 

(To view the article's image gallery, please visit the above link)

[funkyy]

Kind of like a remake of Universal Soldier (Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolf Lundgren), but with better special effects. I'll probably watch it!!😀😀😀

And my wife will watch it 'cos "Jamie" from Outlander is the bad guy!! lol

[freeforever03]

I saw this film. It is definitely a lot of fun if you like action movies.