Bloodshot

This review may contain spoilers!

I haven't enjoyed a film led by Vin Diesel this much in years. I would give Bloodshot a 7.5/10.

Bloodshot follows Ray Garrison, a former marine turned super soldier after his supposed death at the hands of a violent terrorist. As Ray explores his new abilities he discovers there might be more to his origins than meets the eye.This film takes a little while to get going but the minute the feature gets the chance to cut loose and explore Garrison's new 'Bloodshot' abilities this becomes an immensely satisfying film to watch. Watching the main protagonist explore his capabilities in a quick, visually appealing manner is immensely satisfying and a fond departure from the usual formula of lengthy explanation into each power. The plot also establishes a good web of intrigue about how free Garrison is, whether he is a person or a weapon to point and shoot now. The full throttle action that sees Garrison become free is quite an action-packed adventure around free will, it's no deep dive on the subject but it is certainly explored in a way audiences are really going to find entertaining. The cinematography for Bloodshot is some of the nicest blockbuster work I've seen in 2020, every shot feels framed to get the best visual potential into a scene. The visual effects are a real treat, especially the nanite tech within Garrison but also the designs for each of the other super soldiers. The score for the feature is nothing but high intensity, the scenes in which Garrison is on the move feel almost like something from a horror film with how charged the music becomes.

Vin Diesel, who played Ray Garrison, does a really solid job as the feature protagonist; Diesel's gravelly tone and stoic presence fit the soldier role and his confrontation scene with Pearce is the standout moment of the film. Sam Heughan, who played Jimmy Dalton, presented the sort of minor antagonist I really got a kick out of; Heughan brought this twisted form of jealousy and hatred against Diesel's character that made for an interesting motivation to see unfold. Toby Kebbell, who played Martin Axe, has a really intriguing dual role in this film; Kebbell plays well to the sadistic nature of one of his roles and the fear-stricken nature of his other. Lamorne Morris, who played Wilfred Wigans, is one of the funniest characters in the film and stole a lot of the scenes he was in; Morris had a habit of really quickly presenting a comedic line that was unpredictable and exactly what a scene needed to be enhanced.

However, the best performance comes from Guy Pearce, who played Dr. Emil Harting. In blockbusters like these you can sometimes get a performer who really showcases their talent and lifts the quality of the material up through their acting ability. Pearce exemplifies that in Bloodshot, almost constantly. When first we meet mild-mannered scientist, Dr. Harting, you come to trust him pretty quick even if he is a little skittish. Pearce plays strongly to the charisma of the role, and the deep passion and care for the projects he has embarked on. Yet as the film continues and he loses his ability to control the people who are his project his calm temperament slips. What I enjoy most about this role is that Pearce keeps the charismatic passion present throughout, he was never hiding who he is so much as his intentions. Once things stop going his way this character really flips how he operates, systematically exerting his influence over those he has experimented upon and trying to influence the way others think. He steadily descends into a more panicked state, berating his workers more and even destroying others that are in his way in order to achieve his end goal. This was a really fascinating, well-rounded performance to watch.

I quite enjoyed Bloodshot and found it to be the first mature blockbuster to really impress me this year, but it wasn't without some strong narrative flaws. The start of the film is a rough watch and is loaded with too many cliches to just brush it all away, in spite of the film trying to do so. We see Garrison as this unbeatable American soldier, a super-patriot with an attractive wife who he disappears with to an idyllic coastal town that is too good to be true. Everything about this introduction is simulated but for an opening it is laid on very heavily and didn't particularly endear me to the leading role. As the film goes along it has a very erratic pace; often the narrative would move at the perfect speed before suddenly we hit a scene where a wave of information that is crucial to the plot is very suddenly and abruptly offloaded. These moments aren't very well handled and were quite jarring to actually watch. Finally the film ended rather weirdly, playing things a bit cheesily and setting up the sort of rushed happy ending it didn't really deserve. The sequel bait exit line was a real downer as well, as it seemed like a poor attempt to somehow justify an already poor concluding scene. The editing for the feature set a very odd pace and din't always jump to the best beat in the action, which I found surprising given the nature of how the film had to present its narrative.

Eiza Gonzalez, who played KT, did not know how to play a role that was subtle; you were never surprised by this character and Gonzalez made certain plot points easy to predict because of hos she played to a scene. Talulah Riley, who played Gina Garrison, really didn't have much chemistry with Diesel which made the husband/wife dynamic a little tougher to buy; Riley really pushed this love interest role who felt two-dimensional to watch. Siddharth Dhananjay, who played Eric, was a source of comedic relief who played to that a bit too obviously; I never found this character overtly funny and he flubbed as many jokes as he landed. Alex Hernandez, who played Tibbs, was a quiet expressionless role that never really moved out from the background; Hernandez  was the opposite of Heughan because he never found much reason to be more than just an antagonistic henchman. Johannes Haukur Johannesson, who played Nick Baris, was a very blunt figure who didn't bring the same level of intrigue as Kebbell did; the best Johannesson managed to be was a blank expression of resistance to Diesel's leading character.