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.

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.

If you are looking for action, just forget it. There isn't any. Most of the film is uninteresting chatter. It is very slow paced and terribly boring film.

My recommendation: Skip it.

My vote: 1/10.

This one could have been something like Bloodsport (starring JCVD) or Salute of the Jugger (also know as The Blood of Heroes, starring Rutger Hauer) but with guns. Sadly, we get instead way too much (boring) talking, chattering, then some more talking, and, sadly too, not enough gunfights and action. The actors are not to blame, they do solid, also the production is solid for a movie on a B-movie budget, but the story is rather confused, taking away that great premise/idea and focusing on whatever the writer got in mind to achieve (I'm not sure what it was). So Blunt Force Trauma does not reach the great heavens of cheesy and entertaining action B-movie flicks but falls into the terrible pit of the almost-good ones that are to be forgotten but by a few lost souls.

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.