This week, FOX 13 film critic Rich Bonaduce reviewed "Bloodshot" and "The Hunt."
BLOODSHOT
IMDB: Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers.
And if that’s all that the trailer told you, people still would have attended and the movie would have been better. But instead “Bloodshot” becomes another in a string of movies undercut by its trailer.
Apparently wanting another franchise to add to his list (which already includes "Riddick," the "Fast and Furious," the "Guardians of the Galaxy," and "XXX") Vin Diesel stars as …well, just what IMDB says: a slain soldier re-animated with superpowers (and here I just wanted another "Iron Giant").
But "Bloodshot" has a few things working against it. Again, first and foremost was its trailer which featured every twist and turn, therefore the plot of easily the first half-hour is pointless because it sets up no tension or surprise.
The next issue is Diesel himself. He simply doesn't have the required range to play anything other than the one-dimensional action guy of the first act. So after that cliché-laden half-hour moves into parody, *he's the joke.
The dialog doesn't help either, which is indicative of an overall weakness of “Bloodshot.” Its satirical take winks at you way too much, wanting you to know it was in on its own joke; but in the end, “Bloodshot” is *exactly the sort of silly action flick it’s mocking (and it still needs to sell). So even after it tips its hand it still plays those same dumb cards for the remainder of the movie, right up to and including the obvious bid for a sequel; wishful thinking since they have already overplayed their hand in "Bloodshot.”
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Bloodshot (2020)
Sony Pictures Releasing
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, some suggestive material and language
Running Time: 1 hr 49 min
Genres: Action Drama Sci-Fi
THE HUNT
IMDB: Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt.
If "Bloodshot" was too clever for its own good, Blumhouse’s "The Hunt" isn't clever enough.
You may remember that in the wake of multiple mass shootings in 2019 -- and with "The Hunt" being a violent shoot-em-up with political overtones -- it was shelved for a while. But during that time the anticipation only grew, finally resulting in its release this weekend to a fair amount of press, promotion and hype.
Blumhouse chief Jason Blum says: “We think that people who see it are going to enjoy it and this may be a way to shine a light on a very serious problem in the country, which is that we`re divided. And we think the movie may actually, ironically, bring people together."
Bullpucky.
The premise of "The Hunt" is undermined by its underlying agenda and a bunch of poor decisions: its violence is too Monty-Python to be shocking; its satire too unsophisticated to be cutting; and even though it's chock full of silly stereotypes on both sides of the isle, the side it has chosen is too obvious for the film to claim to be "fair and balanced."
I also doubt it's ham-fisted message will bring anyone together with liberal critics like me in the lamestream media thinking it’s a below-average comedic action flick, while its beleaguered target audience thinks it’s a timely and pointed sociopolitical satire.
But it'll certainly benefit from the undeserved controversy, resulting in undeserved attention.
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The Hunt (2020)
Blumhouse/Universal Pictures
MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout.
Running Time: 1 hr 29 min
Genres: Action Horror Thriller
