When Ray Garrison wakes up in an unfamiliar place with no memory, he learns that his body is fuelled by nanites that regenerate his wounds and gives him super-strength, which is all thanks to Dr. Emil Harting. As he gets used to his new body, he remembers that he and his wife were killed by a man that Ray swore vengeance towards. As he hunts his killer down, it becomes apparent that not everything is what it seems. Considering that the trailers have revealed a bit too much, I will try to not reveal too much for those who are curious of seeing this. Although the plot at times might be cliched, the film does offer some interesting ideas and progression of the story that the marketing doesn't reveal. The tone of the film is serious, but has fun with the action and cliches of the plot, giving it an over-the-top yet entertaining feel. I believe that these were intentional choices, as a film based on an obscure 90's comic book series sort of needs to be a bit cheesy to be enjoyable. The humour though is pretty awkward, as only a few lines really work. It does help a bit that the humour is mostly spewed by the techie, I.T guys that viewers would come to expect in these films, so it's not like this wasn't expected.
If you're going to watch a film starring Vin Diesel, you should expect that the film is meant to be just for fun and thrills, with Diesel bringing the same type of performance of the reserved badass who you don't want to mess with. You don't go to watch Diesel make a dramatic performance, but rather the charisma and chill/hot-tempered attitude. So, Diesel does fine, considering his career and the films he's accustomed to. Eiza Gonzalez plays K.T, a woman who feels sorry for Ray's mistreatment and has a device that can controls how she breathes. Her performance is good, but K.T is essentially eye candy that does get involved with the plot and acts as a sort of love interest for Ray, seeing that she is one of the few people that care for him. Guy Pierce as Emil Harting is decent as the eccentric, yet sinister villain, reminding me of a much more reserved Justin Hammer from "Iron Man 2". Lamorne Morris plays Wilfred Wiggins, a hacker who learns of Ray and tries to help him upon his revelation. Despite his hit or miss humour, Morris is very enjoyable as the laid-back, British hipster techie that is much smarter than he leads on to. The side villains that are the muscle to combat Ray are generic, with one of them being an unrealistic douchebag, but their roles just add on to the tropes of the joyride. The other I.T members that work for Harting are pretty pointless though as despite their lighthearted personalities and humour, they don't really get involved in the story or even choose sides, eventually being completely forgotten during the climax. Overall, the majority of the cast of characters are enjoyable and well-performed, even though they are archetypes we have seen before and never become filled with depth and complexity.
The film was directed by David Wilson, who aside from working in visual effects and an episode of "Love, Death & Robots", hasn't had experience on directing a feature-length film, let alone a live-action superhero film. This is where the film struggles as you can tell that this film is being made from someone with limited experience. The film at times feels like a fan film one can find on Youtube, but at others, an actual blockbuster. The cinematography has some nice panning, establishing shots and some moments of the action are caught fine, but there's also quite a lot of shaky camera movements, even when there's no action onscreen. The score is pretty generic, though the use of the song, "Psycho Killer" gives off a fun, if awkward, scene regarding the introduction to a character. The visual effects are actually quite decent and even impressive, given the moderate budget and extensive use of said effects. The scenes with the nanites and certain moments in the climax look pretty good in particular. They aren't super convincing, but they are rendered well to say the less. Sure, the climax gets overly cartoony, but it's better looking than "Black Panther" at least. The action is a real mixed bag though. On the one hand, they are poorly edited and overuse the slow-motion. However, there is some nice direction on the creative end and are just fun to watch out of pure enjoyment. It's absurd to see Diesel with super-strength beating the crap out of people and there is some nice set-pieces such as the tunnel assassination and the assault on the complex with one scene focused entirely on Ray's view while the other is told mainly by Harting's perspective as he monitors Ray and his mission. Wilson should have directed a smaller film prior to this, but I think it could have been directed far worse in my opinion.
"Bloodshot" isn't a movie for everyone. From a cliched narrative, poor attempts at humour, half-baked cinematography, awful editing, lazy score, and amateur directing, there appears to be nothing redeemable whatsoever. However, the film can only be truly enjoyed if you're willing to just have fun with it. The story does have some interesting ideas and moments, the tone is a bit self-aware for the over-the-top nature subject matter, the actors all do a fine job in the roles they have been given, there are some occasionally well-shot and directed moments, the visual effects are pretty good for the limited budget, and the action sequences are just fun to watch due to the creative set-piece and the absurd strength and brute mindset Ray goes through. If you're looking to have some fun in the theatres or are curious of the Valiant comic-book character, this is not a bad film to check out. You must be somewhat forgiving in its faults in order to enjoy it as much as you can though. For those who are generally critical overall, there are plenty of issues to prevent you from having as much fun as you could have. To be honest, I'm hoping that more films based on Valiant comics get made, so we can have more joyrides as this one.
Verdict: 6/10. A decent watch, whether if you enjoy it for how good or bad it is. Considering the lack of big releases this month, check this one out if you're bored and need something to clear your mind over pandemics.
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