Blunt Force Trauma

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".

When it started I was wondering a bit why it was rated so low, because I thought it was watchable at least.

But when the second half started that became painfully obvious.

The movie starts out as sort of a illegal street-fighting movie but with armored vest shooting at each other instead of boxing and kicking each other.

And it builds itself up to make you think that it's gonna get more and more intense as it goes on, so the second half is so anticlimactic it's not even funny.

It turns into some wannabe philosophical wonderings drama movie instead, and it has one of the most abrupt endings I've seen in a long while which literally made me ask 'seriously?' out loud to the TV-screen.

And in the end I have no idea what the movie was trying to say or why it was even made in the first place.

So yeah definitely not recommended, to the Mickey Rourke fans I'd like to point out that he doesn't show up until the last 9 minutes.

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.

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.

Pistol duel in wild west is always enigmatically and brutally interesting, "Blunt Force Trauma" transitions that rugged charm to the modern era with Kevlar and Colt. This is one simple theme used in pretty exciting way, also delivered by adequately dependable leads, yet the pacing isn't as rapid as the flying bullets.

John (Ryan Kwanten) is a participant in underground pistol duel, he rises up in ranks fast in order to challenge the legendary Zorringer (Mickey Rourke). Along the way he meets up with Colt (Freida Pinto), a woman trying to avenge his brother against a man allegedly cheated in the duel. The set-up is good, the unique game-like quality gives an roguish appeal to the character and South American setting.

Ryan Kwanten is a capable lead, he looks psychically impressive and certainly brings the rowdy cowboy persona. Freida Pinto as his counterpart is a good match, they have a nice chemistry and quite believable as two person taking a hazardous trip together. The romance angle works out fine as well, not undermining the serious tone or become too cheesy. The rest of the cast, sadly, are not given too much screen time, including Mickey Rourke, and it makes the scale seems too small.

Dialogues can be rough around the edges, it tries to be poetically engaging but only succeeds half of the time. Some of the lines are too awkwardly put together, not to mention the momentum halts in the midway point. Its gunslinging parts are intriguing, mostly because it's simple and effective in grabbing people's attention. This could've been done more stylish by introducing outlandish characters, but the movie feels a bit restrained to capitalize on its premise.

The act of two persons in duel is primal and basic, a nifty way to engage viewers and the leads cater to such effort, however the pace is unable to reach the full velocity.