bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

James Mottram

2/5 stars
In the early 1990s, Valiant Comics launched the character Bloodshot. Now limping into cinemas is the film version starring Vin Diesel.
The Fast & The Furious star can have his off days, and this derivative sci-fi is one of them. His turn as Ray Garrison, a soldier who gets rebuilt RoboCop-style after he’s murdered, is about as one note as they come. All muscles and mumbles and not much up top.
Directed by David S.F. Wilson, Bloodshot has the feeling of a generic comic book yarn, the sort that used to regularly clutter the multiplexes before Marvel hit its stride.


There are enough twists here to make it a tricky plot to convey without spoiling, but suffice it to say that Garrison wakes up after his murder in a glitzy tech company, run by Guy Pearce’s visionary scientist, Dr Emil Harting, along with his augmented assistant, K.T. ( Baby Driver star Eiza González).
He remembers nothing of his killing at the hands of Toby Kebbell’s gun-toting Australian terrorist, who arrives in the meat freezer where he’s holding Garrison wearing a silver puffer jacket and dancing to Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer. (It’s an amusing entrance, arguably the last time you’ll smile in this formulaic story). Nor does Garrison recall that his wife Gina (Talulah Riley) was bumped off in front of his eyes.

Now he’s enhanced with immense strength, so much so he can pummel a concrete pillar with his bare fists, and organisms called ‘Nanites’ in his bloodstream that repair damaged cells. But when something triggers Garrison’s past trauma, before you can say “vendetta”, he’s hunting down Kebbell’s character to the death.
What follows is nothing wildly original, though at least Pearce has fun in the Dr Frankenstein role, drooling to Garrison that “revenge is what makes a man like you exceptional”.
Wilson came from a visual effects background before directing and it’s fair to say the CG work is solid, though it’s a shame they didn’t spend more on the backdrops – a disastrous London-set segment looks like it never left Hungary, where the film is partially set. There is at least a credible fight in a lift shaft between Garrison and two heavies, one of whom has been equipped with protruding, octopus-like arms.

But for the most part, Bloodshot is short of ideas, playing with such cliché-riddled themes like choosing who you want to be in life. Avoid.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


Netflix’s Havoc director on how the Tom Hardy thriller is an ode to Hong Kong action films

Meet Keanu Reeves’ glamorous English mum Patricia Taylor – who barely seems to age: the showgirl-turned costume designer styled Dolly Parton’s 1978 Playboy outfit, and she hangs out with Winona Ryder

Harvey Weinstein’s #MeToo rape retrial opens with added allegations from ex-model

The Accountant 2 movie review: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal in illogical thriller sequel

American cinema

Bloodshot film review: Vin Diesel is all muscles and mumbles in one-note comic book adaptation

Vin Diesel in a still from Bloodshot.

Eiza González in a still from Bloodshot.

Guy Pearce (left) and Vin Diesel in a still from Bloodshot.

Vin Diesel in a still from Bloodshot (category IIB), directed by Dave Wilson.

The Hunt film review: violent political fable proves little more than casual exploitation

Hilary Swank (left) and Betty Gilpin in a still from The Hunt.

A still from The Hunt.

Hilary Swank (front) in a still from The Hunt.

Betty Gilpin plays the lead role in The Hunt (category: TBC), directed by Craig Zobel. Hilary Swank and Ike Barinholtz co-star.

My Spy film review: Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista stars in entertaining, espionage-themed family comedy

Chloe Coleman and Dave Bautista in a still from My Spy.

Dave Bautista and Kristen Schaal in a still from My Spy.

Chloe Coleman in a still from My Spy.

Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman in a still from My Spy (category: IIA), directed by Peter Segal.

The Battle of Jangsari film review: Korean war drama starring Megan Fox is disposable and formulaic

Megan Fox in a still from The Battle of Jangsari.

A still from The Battle of Jangsari.

Choi Min-ho (centre) in a still from The Battle of Jangsari (category IIB, Korean, English), directed by Kwak Kyung-taek.

The Invisible Man film review: Elisabeth Moss shines as abuse victim in effective sci-fi thriller

Elisabeth Moss in a still from The Invisible Man.

Aldis Hodge in a still from The Invisible Man.

Elisabeth Moss in a scene from The Invisible Man (category: IIB), directed by Leigh Whannell. Starring Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. Photo: Mark Rogers

The Call of the Wild film review: Harrison Ford in live action/CGI retelling of Jack London classic

Harrison Ford and Buck in a still from The Call of the Wild.

A still from The Call of the Wild.

Omar Sy in a still from The Call of the Wild (category TBC), directed by Chris Sanders. Harrison Ford and Dan Stevens co-star,

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

This story of a soldier, who is rebuilt after being murdered and launches a vendetta, is one-dimensional and derivative
Vin Diesel fails to impress, and although the CGI is well executed, the backdrops are a disaster


Vin Diesel does not impress in this formulaic tale of a murdered and rebuilt soldier who is out for revenge. Full of clichés and unoriginal, the film fails to tick any of the boxes.


Film reviews

Cinema

Vin Diesel

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Bloodshot film review: Vin Diesel is all muscles and mumbles in one-note comic book adaptation

This story of a soldier, who is rebuilt after being murdered and launches a vendetta, is one-dimensional and derivative Vin Diesel fails to impress, and although the CGI is well executed, the backdrops are a disaster

This story of a soldier, who is rebuilt after being murdered and launches a vendetta, is one-dimensional and derivative

Vin Diesel fails to impress, and although the CGI is well executed, the backdrops are a disaster