Bloodshot Review

Bloodshot came to your home early after a short stint in theaters and is now available to buy on Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube. It’s about a soldier who undergoes an experiment after his death that brings him back to life with faster healing, enhanced strength, digital access to electronics, and loss of most his memories. This is based on the Bloodshot comics from Valiant Comics, with a few significant changes to the character that grounded him for a more cinematic universe.

Ray Garrison (played by Vin Diesel) is a soldier that dies in combat and then wakes up with new abilities and a need to avenge his murdered wife. He defies the military program where he is confined, to seek vengeance. After this “origin movie” act 1, things really take off with the revelation of a new layer to his reality. He then works through his memories, and with the assistance of unlikely allies, combats those who were using him. The story shifts dramatically through its three acts. Act 1 is a superhero origin story that you might expect from early MCU. Act 2 is the best act narratively as the story broadens to a sci-fi bend. The presumption previously shown to Garrison and the audiences are revealed as false. Act 3 turns into a blockbuster action film with fight scenes and a walk off into the sunset.

The acting in this film was nothing to brag about. Vin Diesel basically plays himself, as usual, with no distinction from Dominic Toretto in personality. KT was played by Eiza González; she did an adequate job in showing the duality in her focus on her duty and growing compassion. Guy Pearce steps it up a bit. He is playing this character like his portrayal of Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3, but in the first Act he does show a fatherly concern for Garrison; making the turn in act 2 even more impactful. Lamorne Morris is always a delight, but his choice in such a heavy English accent was very distracting. The acting was the weakest aspect of the film

Visuals for the most part were decent. Early fight scenes when Garrison is just learning his abilities were so well done that, I was already plotting the rise of the Valiant Cinematic Universe. By act three we turned MCU into Sony. The fight scene on the elevator reminded me of Toby McGuire’s Spider-Man with cartoony faces and terrible shading. There was even some Fast and the Furious with unnecessary explosions and falling debris. The early promise of the film was quickly washed away in a lackluster finish.

Is Bloodshot worth watching? Yes, on Netflix. Wait till this film is a part of your streaming Library. One redeeming quality of this movie is my newfound interest in the Bloodshot comics. I’m picking up a few next week. I’m giving this film a C.