“Blood Father” is a gritty action thriller that many people have long since waited for Mel Gibson to do. It may not be on the best list of Gibson’s action film oeuvre but Gibson still shows us that he can still kick ass on the big screen! And for those who love popcorn action films, “Blood Father” is worth recommending!
TITLE: Blood Father
FILM RELEASE: 2016
DURATION: 88 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, (2:39:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English SDH and Spanish
COMPANY: Lionsgate Premiere
RATED: R (Strong Violence, Language Throughout and Brief Drug Use)
RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2016
Based on the novel by Peter Craig
Directed by Jean-Francois Richet
Screenplay by Peter Craig, Andrea Berloff
Produced by Chris Briggs, Pascal Caucheteux, Peter Craig, Sebastien Lemercier
Executive Producer: Jennifer Roth
Music by Sven Faulconer
Cinematography by Robert Gantz
Edited by Steven Rosenblum
Production Design by Robb Wilson King, Eve McCarney
Art Direction by Billy W. Ray
Set Decoration by Susan Magestro, Penelope Rene Stames
Costume Design by Terry Anderson, Lisa Norcia
Starring:
Mel Gibson as Link
Erin Moriarty as Lydia
Diego Luna as Jo0nah
Michael Parks as Preacher
William H. Macy as Kirby
Miguel Sandoval as Arturo Rios
Dale Dickey as Cherise
Richard Cabral as Joker
Daniel Moncada as Choop
Ryan Dorsey as Shamrock
Raoul Max Trujillo as The Cleaner
Mel Gibson delivers nonstop, no-holds-barred action in this dynamic thrill ride. When his estranged teenaged daughter (Erin Moriarty) is targeted by a drug cartel, ex-convict John Link (Gibson) must call upon connections from his criminal past and his own lethal skills to save his daughter’s future. Diego Luna, Michael Parks, and William H. Macy costar in this explosive story of how far one man will go to save his family.
From French filmmaker Jean-Francois Richet (“Assault on Precinct 13”, “Mesrine” films) comes his English language French action thriller film “Blood Father”.
Based on the novel by Peter Craig (writer of “The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1 and 2”, “The Town”) and a screenplay which he co-wrote with Andrea Berloff (“Straight Outta Compton”, “World Trade Center”).
The film stars Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”, “Lethal Weapon” films, “Signs”, “The Patriot”), Erin Moriarty (“The Kings of Summer”, “The Watch”, “Captain Fantastic”), Diego Luna (“Milk”, “The Terminal”, “Elysium”), Michael Parks (“Kill Bill” films, “Django Unchained”, “From Dusk Till Dawn”), William H. Macy (“Fargo”, “Shameless”, “Jurassic Park III”) and Miguel Sandoval (“Medium”, “Clear and Present Danger”, “Jurassic Park”).
The film begins with a missing persons poster of Lydia (portrayed by Erin Moriarty). The film then shifts to Lydia trying to purchase bullets for her boyfriend Jonah (portrayed by Diego Luna) and his gang.
The gang is planning to kill a tenant family who has stolen money hidden in their home. As Jonah takes the front, Lydia who is stressed out is given some meth to calm her nerves.
As Jonah and his gang get into the house, Lydia sees the tenants children in the back yard. As gunshots erupt, Lydia sees a dead father while Jonah is beating on the mother, demanding the woman to hell him where the money is. When she doesn’t, Jonah wants Lydia to shoot her. Instead, Lydia accidentally shoots Jonah in the neck and thinking she killed him, takes off and leaves.
We are then introduced to her father John (portrayed by Mel Gibson), an ex-convict on parole now working as a tattoo artist somewhere in the desert living in a trailer park. He often talks to his sponsor, Kirby (portrayed by William H. Macy) and is trying to live a happy life.
Out of the blue, Lydia calls her father and frantically asks for money and John tells her that he will meet her. But as Lydia doses off, she sees that she is drinking a lot of alcohol and when he takes her home, carries her to the bed. John checks her purse and finds alcohol and booze.
When Lydia wakes up, she tells him that her ex-boyfriend was killed and his gang is after her. Worried about the problems that her daughter is going through, and worried that it will ruin his parole. Things get worse when the gang arrive at the trailer park demanding him to give them a tattoo and when John tries to avoid trouble, he goes back inside.
They start busting up his mobile home and start shooting at it and eventually ramming the mobile home and destroy it. While John and Lydia survived the attack, they are saved by Kirby and the locals.
But John leaves the crime scene with his daughter and now they are both wanted by the police and to make things worse, there is a hit on Lydia and they are being pursued by the gangs and a hitman.
Will John and Lydia survive this ordeal?
VIDEO:
“Blood Father” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:39:1 aspect ratio). The film looks very good in HD as closeups show great detail. May it be the pores on Mel Gibson’s skin, the water and dust on the car windows and more. I didn’t see any artifacts or banding during my viewing of the film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Blood Father” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The film features crystal clear dialogue and the film features a good amount of action, with gun shootouts, motorcycle revving and more.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Blood Father” comes with the following special feature:
- Lost Souls: On the Road with Blood Father – (27:50) A featurette about the making of “Blood Father” with interviews with the cast and crew.
EXTRAS:
“Blood Father” comes with a slipcover and an UltraViolet HD code.
It’s been awhile since we watched Mel Gibson in an action film as the primary protagonist.
While we have seen Gibson focus his career as a director and a producer, there is no denying that many people would like to see Gibson in an action film, as he had done in films such as the “Lethal Weapons” films, “Braveheart”, “The Patriot”, “We Were Soldiers” to name a few.
And sure, we have seen him in films such as “Machete Kills” and “The Expendables 3”, “Blood Father” is no doubt one of the more exciting action roles since his 2010 film “Edge of Darkness”.
In “Blood Father”, Gibson plays the role of ex-convict John Link, who has tried his best to keep out of trouble while on parole.
He has been looking for his daughter Lydia, who has gone missing and is now dating a major drug dealer and criminal, Jonah Pincerna.
When Lydia, Jonah and his gang try to kill a family who lived in a home to find stolen money hidden somewhere in the house, Lydia accidentally shoots Jonah and thinks she had killed him.
And now, Jonah’s gang are after her. So, who does she call for help? Her father, John who meets up with her to give her money.
But while she’s sleeping, John sees alcohol and drugs hidden in her bag and knows that she’s in bad trouble. But doesn’t know the extent until the gang shows up to John’s trailer park and starts to shoot up the mobile home that John and Lydia are at.
Fortunately, John’s sponsor Kirby (portrayed by William H. Macy) and the locals end up chasing the gang away but while Kirby wants John to not get in trouble and risk going back to jail, he wants him to stay put. Instead he runs away with his daughter and now they become fugitives of the law, are being hunted down by Jonah’s gang and a hitman.
And will father and daughter survive the entire ordeal?
Mel Gibson does a great job of playing the role of an ex-convict. We have seen him play a variety of roles, but this time, a man with a rough past and hardened in prison but yet being a caring father.
While Erin Moriarty plays a girl who had a lot of problems growing up and eventually gotten herself in even more major problems by geting involved with a major drug dealer. And after accidentally shooting him and thinking he was dead, now gangs and hitmen are now after her.
The film features a lot of tension, a lot of action and while the film is about father and daughter trying to stay away from the law and gangs that are pursuing them, but the film also explores two people who have had f*cked up lives but one thing they do have is a love for each other and being reunited, father and daughter have their long awaited bonding moment.
But with the trouble they are in, how much time does father and daughter have left?
As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is fantastic as close-ups show amazing detail, outdoor scenes are vibrant and lossless audio during action scenes and ambiance are well-utilized through the surround channels.
Overall, “Blood Father” is a gritty action thriller that many people have long since waited for Mel Gibson to do. It may not be on the best list of Gibson’s action film oeuvre but Gibson still shows us that he can still kick ass on the big screen! And for those who love popcorn action films, “Blood Father” is worth recommending!
