Blood Father
Directed by:
Jean-François RichetCinematography:
Robert GantzComposer:
Sven FaulconerCast:
Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks, William H. Macy, Miguel Sandoval, Dale Dickey, Richard Cabral, Daniel Moncada, Raoul Max Trujillo (more)Plots(1)
After her drug kingpin boyfriend frames her for stealing a fortune in cartel cash, 17 year old LYDIA goes on the run, with only one ally in this whole wide world: her perennial screw-up of a dad, JOHN LINK, who's been a motorcycle outlaw, and a convict in his time, and now is determined to keep his little girl from harm and, for once in his life, do the right thing... (Warner Bros. UK)
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A straightforward family hit that has no pretentions and entertains with its bloodiness and great lines. Mel is in his element and enjoys every minute that they let him act. The role suits him and it’s great that the daughter (Erin Moriarty) isn’t just someone to be rescued but she moves the story along. Not much action, but when there is, it’s A-grade. Old school.
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Blood Father is a pleasantly straightforward revenge thriller. It will serve the purpose for a Saturday evening on basic cable, but for fans of B-movies that don’t deal in a large amount of profanity and a high body count, it probably won’t offer the same satisfaction as movies that are even more uncompromising and lay claim to the trash tradition with greater pride (such as Gibson’s Payback). Richet manages to limit the theatrical dimension of the father and daughter reuniting and bonding by treating the central duo’s relationship a bit like a buddy movie, but despite all the cynicism and dark humour (see the opening joke about buying bullets, which of course fundamentally conflicts with how uncomplicatedly guns are dealt with in the rest of the film), it is still apparent that family and forgiveness comprise the theme of the film. Due to the short runtime, there is fortunately not much time for didactic dialogue and, furthermore, Gibson’s father character brushes off most of his daughter’s sins with the word “fuck” delivered with various intonations. Richet knows when to crank up the narrative with an action scene and, despite the predictability of the plot, he manages to surprise us a few times with an unexpected cut (to what is happening in the film projected in the cinema) and the agitation with which casual conversations are shot and edited (so that we are constantly aware that the characters are under time pressure). ___ If some roles are said to have been written directly on the actor’s body, in this case that is undoubtedly true (although the film is based on a book) and I find the autobiographical aspect to be the most inspiring part of the whole film. Gibson plays a recovering alcoholic, a former member of a biker gang who has had so much trouble with the law that he risks violating parole with even the slightest offense and going back to prison. He hides out in a western no-man’s land near the Mexican border, staying away from a society in which he has lost faith. Only his daughter in distress compels him to dust off his soldier mentality and lethal skills, which in the end are not something he should be ashamed of, but a useful insurance policy in case of emergency and a reminder of a time when he actually lived (not just survived). You never know when a group of angry Mexicans (it must be said that, to the film’s credit, neo-Nazis are also a threat here) will come to shoot up your camping trailer and you will have to take justice into your own hands. Your problematic past will come in handy in such a situation. As long as you help your family, it doesn’t matter how much damage you do or how many bodies you leave behind. In other words, if – like Mel –you were once a bad guy, that doesn't mean that you should suffer for the rest of your life because of it. It’s unlikely that Blood Father will be the film that saves Gibson’s career, but it offers a lot more (guilty) fun than other projects that are basically just psychotherapy for the actor or filmmaker. 65%
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I’d been pretty much looking forward to this new Mel Gibson movie, but the result threw me off balance a bit. At first, I wanted to warm up by watching the interview that had been prepared for us by Pomo featuring the director and Mel. But the thing was that while the director was full of standard French arrogance, Mel was just sort of standing there and he didn’t really care about anything. So, I was hoping that at least the movie would save the day, but it didn’t. While Mel put in his standard performance, I guess the guy behind the camera must have been drunk or something. It was a strange attempt at a refined shaky camera, which did present nice shots taken at interesting places, but at some points the shakiness was really annoying. Who I also found annoying was the daughter of Mel’s, and that didn’t change until the end of the movie. As they say, there is power in simplicity. In this movie, that simplicity was a bit too straightforward. However, the final action sequence was OK. Too bad that Mel once again got talked into a small-scale flick.
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A not very accomplished attempt at retro. The traditionally charismatic Gibson is great, but it lacks directness and impact, it drags too much and is drowning in tons of dialogue filler. The few bright moments are mostly action scenes, or when the cinematographer, or the screenwriter, has a bright moment and there's something cool for a few seconds, which is what we love about these redneck oldschool action movies.
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A sympathetic action movie that is not as straightforward as it seems at first glance, but there is no need to think about it too much. The main thing is that Mel Gibson did not disappoint me and although I liked Get the Gringo a little more, I had fun from the beginning to the tense end, in which everything was at stake and which was... let's say typical Gibson.
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