04-03-2017, 12:39 AM
Blood Father (2016)
[Image: Moto.jpg]
Picture, if you will, a neo-Western in which an aging action icon with serious anger issues must, due to sudden circumstance, protect and transport a daughter he barely knows, who's being hunted by merciless killers. But, unlike Logan, this Mel Gibson flick runs a mere 88 minutes... and I'm sorely tempted to call it the better film. Both movies feature quiet respites in their second acts, but where the former introduced a family of random characters through sheer happenstance, the downtime companions in Blood Father illustrate where our hero came from, and highlights the ways they've grown apart.
Erin Moriarty (the sacrificial lamb from Jessica Jones) turns in a strong supporting performance, and William H. Macy stands out in a cameo as an alcoholic washout named Kirby, making this an unofficial stealth sequel to Jurassic Park III for pop culture buffs who live to make such connections. But of course the main attraction is Mel himself, in his first starring role since 2012's even more delicious Get the Gringo. Blood Father is a bit less fun, but it's no less artful, and the 60-year-old Gibson is still crazy buff, crazy compelling, and perhaps a bit just plain crazy. Never mind the black and white cut: I now want to see a Fury Road with him as Max even more than I did before. This is another superior low-key action flick from the director of the underrated Assault on Precinct 13 remake.
A-
[Image: Moto.jpg]
Picture, if you will, a neo-Western in which an aging action icon with serious anger issues must, due to sudden circumstance, protect and transport a daughter he barely knows, who's being hunted by merciless killers. But, unlike Logan, this Mel Gibson flick runs a mere 88 minutes... and I'm sorely tempted to call it the better film. Both movies feature quiet respites in their second acts, but where the former introduced a family of random characters through sheer happenstance, the downtime companions in Blood Father illustrate where our hero came from, and highlights the ways they've grown apart.
Erin Moriarty (the sacrificial lamb from Jessica Jones) turns in a strong supporting performance, and William H. Macy stands out in a cameo as an alcoholic washout named Kirby, making this an unofficial stealth sequel to Jurassic Park III for pop culture buffs who live to make such connections. But of course the main attraction is Mel himself, in his first starring role since 2012's even more delicious Get the Gringo. Blood Father is a bit less fun, but it's no less artful, and the 60-year-old Gibson is still crazy buff, crazy compelling, and perhaps a bit just plain crazy. Never mind the black and white cut: I now want to see a Fury Road with him as Max even more than I did before. This is another superior low-key action flick from the director of the underrated Assault on Precinct 13 remake.
A-
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