Day Shift

Directed by J. J. Perry, Day Shift follows Jamie Foxx’s Bud Jablonski as he and his reluctant partner (Dave Franco’s Seth) find themselves pursued by a fearsome vampire (Karla Souza’s Audrey San Fernando) bent on revenge. It’s a familiar premise that’s employed to watchable yet entirely forgettable effect by Perry, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten, delivers a briskly-paced, relentlessly slick endeavor that’s been suffused with a whole host of less-than-fresh attributes and elements – with, for example, the continuing emphasis on the John Wick-like universe in which the story unfolds contributing heavily to the movie’s been-there-done-that atmosphere. There’s little doubt, then, that Day Shift benefits from its high-energy action sequences and smattering of agreeable performances, as the movie does, in terms of the latter, boast a completely charming lead performance by Foxx that’s enhanced by his agreeable (albeit entirely generic) chemistry with Franco’s uptight figure. (It’s worth noting, as well, that Souza offers up solid work as the movie’s admittedly intriguing villain.) By the time the predictably larger-than-life (and somewhat exhausting) finale rolls around, Day Shift has confirmed its place as a decent-enough endeavor that undoubtedly could (and should) have been streamlined (ie 114 minutes is absurd for a picture like this, ultimately).

**1/2 out of ****