I don’t usually make predictions about what the film
industry is going to look like in however-many years’ time, namely because it’s
tricky enough judging what’s right in front of me, let alone what could
possibly be next. However, this one feels like a decent bet: Filmgoers should
make themselves familiar with Blur Studio, because they’re where the next wave
of prospective big-timers are going to come from.
Founded by VFX wizard Tim Miller, better known for his iffy
take on Deadpool and his criminally underrated take on Terminator, I could just
point at their efforts from Love Death & Robots as proof positive of their
place as the current vanguard of modern CGI potential. But it seems that
they’re making their way into the cinemas proper as well, beyond just Miller’s
own efforts. You know that Sonic The Hedgehog movie that’s been turning
heads of late? Yeah, director Jeff Fowler is one of the old guard from Blur.
And today’s feature shows another of their rank making it to the big screen with
David S. F. Wilson (Remember that episode of LDR about robots fighting in
gladiator matches? Yeah, that guy.). Unfortunately, for quite a few
reasons, it seems like he’s been dealt a dud hand.
This is the latest attempt at pre-empting a cinematic universe,
this time built on the properties of Valiant Comics. While I feel the need to
point out that the main inspiration point for these attempts at priming the
money printers, the MCU, didn’t put its cart before the horse, that
feels like a formality next to this film’s pretty bizarre attempts at
world-building. Or, rather, the lack thereof. It ends up spending far more time
deconstructing its own status as a film than it does setting up for any to
follow, treating its main story of a formerly-dead soldier turned cyborg
revenge machine with an incessantly postmodern leaning.
It’s not nearly as cute as it thinks it is, though. I don’t
know whether this is the fault of writer Eric Heisserer (whose work ranges from
pointless to one of the best films of all time), writer Jeff Wadlow (who
only seems to be finding new depths to his own incompetence, given his latest),
or the punch-up work by Underwater co-writer Adam Cozad, but the script
makes the mistake of thinking poking at its own derivative parts is enough to
excuse them still being here.
It almost stumbles into profundity in how Bloodshot is
primed for each mission (which, given the marketing’s lack of subtlety, is a
plot twist that kind of knocks the wind out of the film’s sails), like a
bloodier Spider-Man: Far From Home… but then it sinks in just how deep
the film’s cribbing can get. I mean, it’s a cyberpunk-tinged revenge action
thriller; the film’s tagline of “Superheroes are getting an Upgrade”
almost feels like an admission of guilt that these guys are trying to ride on Leigh
Whannell’s coattails. Add to that how, much like Venom, there’s an
unmistakable 90’s gratuity to the whole equation, and this supposed universe
jump-starter seems dead on arrival. And that’s without factoring in the lack of
butts in seats due to global plague.
But even with that said… I have to admit, there’s still
something to like about this. While Blur Studio didn’t have a hand on the
visual effects here, the studios that did give a decent amount of muscle
to the more detailed moments. It’s because of their work that the film’s
occasional musings on the tropes and mechanics of cinema feel intentional, as
the literal construction work on display is nicely rendered. Ditto for the reconstruction
work on Bloodshot himself, which leads to some cool images.
Then there’s the action scenes themselves, which may peak a
little too early and lack consistency to keep things working (it wound
up giving me Gemini Man flashbacks at points), but when they peak, they really
peak. The initial scene of the revived Bloodshot at work is fucking gorgeous,
taking place in a street tunnel where an upturned flour truck has coated
everything in mock snow. The lighting, the colour palette, the way the shadows
work with the CGI, not to mention how hard the fight choreography hits on its
own; this is Leitch/Stahelski-level shit, which is weirdly fitting given they
were originally handed the directing gig for this.
But again, that’s just one example, and it’s not necessarily
representative of the entertainment value at large. Instead, this is basically
just an average action-thriller with occasional moments of inspiration, along
with just as many moments of punching above its weight. It shows David S. F.
Wilson having some potential in a feature-length outing, and it’s admittedly
nice to see comic book cinema coming from somewhere other than the Big
Two… but we already have Upgrade; we don’t really need this thing.
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