Director: Jean-François Richet
Starring: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, William H. Macy, Diego Luna, Thomas Mann, Dale Dickey, Michael Parks
Rating: 15
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Release Date:Â In cinemas now
When his estranged daughter (Moriarty) comes to him for help after angering some drug dealers, ex-con John Link (Gibson) must protect her as they make their way towards Mexico.
There was a point near the beginning of Blood Father where I felt like this might be one of the year’s nicest surprises. As Link harbours his daughter in his trailer, a group of angry dealers arrive with guns to take them out and violence ensues. As the first burst of action in the film, it’s brutal, vicious and thrilling.
For a moment it felt like I was watching another Taken. Alas, it was not to be.
There’s a lot to like in this run of the mill thriller, the sparse bursts of action, the rugged wise-cracking performance from Gibson. The trouble is that we’ve seen it all before. Which I understand is something that doesn’t matter too much when people enjoy it, and people have enjoyed this.
I just felt that the only real moments of brutal violence were few and far between, with only a decent attempt at creating a meaningful father/daughter relationship keeping the film going. I have no problem with the level of drama that Blood Father was offering, yet when you have a film that has a routine series of beats and cliches that propel the story forward, I would’ve liked for something more considered and exciting.
The fights and shootouts were good enough but quite short, whilst the ending came a little too quickly. Too much time was used in set up. setting up the bond of the two leads whilst delivering backstory on his life as an ex-con.
There were contrivances to get certain characters to certain places and not enough fun. John Wick, this is not.
Luckily the performances worked, Mel Gibson in particular came across very well as a charming and troubled trailer park ex-alcoholic. His lines were delivered with gravelly gusto and he got the job down without any fuss.
Erin Moriarty, who you may remember from Jessica Jones, did well as a renegade daughter with a series of bad decisions behind her. She had strength and a level head, which made for a nice balance between the central duo.
Elsewhere, the cinematography, whilst unremarkable, complimented the dusty New Mexico landscape. Combined with the score from Sven Faulconer and the world shown to us felt down to earth and gritty, like an extension of Hell or High Water from earlier this year.
It’s similarly directed with efficiency and punch, and, again, the action scenes were good, if lacking. I just can’t help feeling a little like there should of, could’ve been something new done to the genre.
In the end, Blood Father is your average actioner that doesn’t really do anything original but gets by on good performances and a good sense of place. There’s not a lot to recommend or remember but you may enjoy some of the cheaper thrills.
Verdict
