Bloodshot Review: 3 Ups & 7 Downs

So-bad-it's-good action nonsense.

Bloodshot Vin Diesel
Columbia Pictures

Arriving in cinemas on a wave of non-hype this week is Bloodshot, the Vin Diesel-starring adaptation of the much-loved Valiant Comics series, in Diesel's latest attempt to bag himself a new movie franchise outside of The Fast and the Furious and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you've seen the trailers, you pretty much know what to expect here: an hilariously retrograde throwback to the type of action films that were popular 20 years ago, with Diesel giving a typically stoic, one-note performance.

That's not to say that Bloodshot is all bad, because it certainly isn't: a movie where Diesel plays a nanotech-infused superhero hell-bent on avenging his own "murder" isn't the worst idea, and there are some surprisingly clever moments throughout.

But the execution, particularly on a technical level, is massively sub-par, ensuring that this half-smart, half-dopey thriller ends up feeling rather cheap and low-effort.

Needless to say, the prospect of Bloodshot being successful enough to get a sequel is not good...

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.