Blunt Force Trauma

This is not a very good film. Straight to the point, eh? It's about people who stand in a small circle clad in bulletproof vests who then proceed to draw guns and shoot each other in an underground gunfighter/duel type thingy. Bets are placed, money exchanged etc, etc.

It's at one of these bizarre events we met John and Colt, our films leads, who hit it off an embark on a road trip of sorts.

The film tries hard to aspire to some kind of gunslinger noir but with little plot and thinly drawn characters it all feels a bit contrived. On the plus side one of the films leads, Colt is played by the stunningly beautiful Freida Pinto so there's that at least, and it's cinematography is pretty tidy too. There's also a late appearance from Mickey Rourke,a truly gifted actor but his appearance now a days must surely frighten children and his cameo is rather naff. On the whole this picture is attempting to be cool and moody but it just all feels a bit hackneyed and trite.

Ultimately unfulfilling, long winded movie that fails to satisfy on any level. The two leads are effective, but the plot(such as it is) is plodding. Things deteoriate even further by the time mickey rourke turns up shortly before the end.

Rourkes botched surgery is so ghastly it detracts from what little impact the weak ending might have had.

Not recommended.

If you get bruises, it means you felt something. For the longest times in this, it feels like ... nothing. While our main character struggles to explain what can not be explained, we get a second story line with the gorgeous and talented Freida Pinto. The ensuing love story is not the most believable you'll have seen. But it serves its purpose (killing time and establishing another character besides our main man).

Unfortunately not many things work in its favor here. The ending (which seems blurred, but I guess if you look closely enough you might be able to see something and if you still care have an opinion about it) will split the opinion many viewers will have. Rightfully so I think. Watch it if you don't expect much ...

No spoilers. Just an old reference.

When I was younger, there was a thing called a "shaggy dog story".

This movie has A LOT going for it. It has good character development, for example.

Good basic plot.

Good (although each mostly simple) complications to the plot.

Some elements of the action were never adequately explained.

But in the long run: too many things were not explained in the context. Many things seemed to happen with no rational motivation behind them.

They all did lead to the end... but not in any logical manner.

So, then comes the climax...

"Shaggy dog story".

If you are into dark introspection, this film is for you. I found it sufficiently entertaining to watch to the end, but that may have been a random mood swing. The attempts to critique American gun violence fell mostly flat, but the flick's central "game" bears a lot of resemblance to the insanity of urban gang-banging, which might have provided the missing action. The interaction between John and Colt was interesting enough, but not quite compelling. Luckily, each gunfight had a different "start signal," or I might have given up-that was the films lone achievement in creativity.