Bloodshot

Based on the comic-book series, Bloodshot follows tough-as-nails soldier Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) as he’s killed in the line of duty but subsequently brought back to life by a company specializing in cybernetic enhancements. (Said company is run by Guy Pearce’s ambitious Dr. Emil Harting.) It’s a familiar premise that’s employed to mostly watchable yet undeniably erratic effect by David S. F. Wilson, as the first-time filmmaker, working from Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced thriller that ultimately does fare best in its opening hour – with the movie benefiting substantially from Diesel’s impressively compelling performance and a narrative that boasts a handful of genuinely surprising twists. (The latter ensures that the film is constantly reinventing itself, ultimately.) The inclusion of a few admittedly stylish set-pieces, particularly Ray’s encounter with Toby Kebbell’s sadistic Martin Axe, perpetuates the picture’s better-than-expected atmosphere, although, perhaps not surprisingly, Bloodshot does begin to palpably run out of steam in the buildup towards its ludicrously over-the-top (and less-than-captivating) final stretch – with the emphasis on far-from-seamless computer-generated effects ensuring that the characters’ violent exploits are hardly as enthralling as Wilson has surely intended. The final result is a decent-enough endeavor that generally feels like it could (and should) be so much better, with, especially, Diesel’s surprisingly involving work here setting the film apart from its myriad of mindless brethren.

**1/2 out of ****