'Bloodshot' Spoiler-Free Review: Not the greatest superhero film but a fun action movie nonetheless
When we first found out that the Valiant Comics superhero Bloodshot is finally getting his own movie starring Vin Diesel, we were extremely excited. After all, with Marvel and DC dominating the superhero film industry, having a different company come to the fore seemed like a refreshing change.
'Bloodshot' doesn't exactly establish Valiant as a competitor for the Big Two. In fact, the movie barely scratches the surface of the character's potential. That said, it's still a fun watch if you are in the mood for some crazy action and special effects.
In his feature directorial debut, Dave Wilson does a job that would make Michael Bay proud, filling the movie with plenty of explosions, fight scenes and a few laughs in between. The movie isn't some deep, artistic masterpiece but who said that's what a superhero film ought to be?
'Bloodshot' takes things to the roots of the action genre, occasionally taking digs at the cliches it's employing and doing what action movies do best: entertaining the living nanites out of us all.
Most of the movie's plot has already been covered in the trailers and no, there isn't much in here that isn't predictable. But it's still a lot of fun watching the movie unfold. The role of Ray Garrison / Bloodshot is unlikely to get Diesel any Oscar nominations but he does manage to put up a solid performance, given the circumstances.
Without giving away any spoilers, here is everything of importance in the movie. Guy Pearce as Dr Emil Harting, an evil scientist surrounded by incompetent henchmen, tries to weaponize 'Groundhog Day' to take out his enemies, only for it to backfire as spectacularly (and expensively) as possible.
In the process, there is some cool tech, Sam Heughan as a murderous psychopath named Jimmy Dalton and Lamorne Morris as a wisecracking tech genius who may or may not be insane. Now that might not sound like much but if you are in the mood to grab some popcorn and chill out watching Diesel do some cool action sequences while thankfully not making it all about family, this is the movie for you.
'Bloodshot' will release in theaters on March 13.
