Mark Strong: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Robert Seymour - Blood

Blood Mark Strong A woefully tedious police procedural, Blood came and went without much fanfare from anyone, and all the better for everyone involved, especially Strong, who gives an uncharacteristically soporific performance, though given the material he's saddled with, it's hard to blame him. Strong plays Robert, a cop investigating the murder of a young girl, who begins to cotton onto the fact that his colleagues, two brothers, Joe (Paul Bettany) and Chrissy (Stephen Graham) just might know more than they're letting on. Though Strong benefits from probably the best material of any of the actors, that's not really saying a lot. He again breaks with convention, playing essentially the hero of the piece, but his character is also too confined to police thriller cliches, a loner who is also scared of commitment. He's the prototypical workaholic cop down to a tee, and despite one good scene opposite Brian Cox, he mostly just looks tired, and moreover, very, very bored.
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