Theatrical Review: Blood Father (2016)

"Mel has still got it."

(aka Daddy Got A Gun.)
Release Date: August 26th.
Country: France
Rating: R
Written by: Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff. 
Directed by: Jean-Francois Richet.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks, William H.. Macy, Miguel Sandoval, and Dale Dickey.

Back around 2008, or maybe it was earlier, Mel Gibson went on an Anti-Semitic rant that basically cost him his career. I get that Hollywood has a large Jewish presence which wields a large amount of power, and that it's not nice to say mean things about people, but if everyone who said something mean or hateful about another person (or group of persons) lost their jobs, especially when they opened their mouths when they were drunk, then there wouldn't be a lot of employed people in the world.

The point is, the guy who thrilled us with the likes of Mad Max, Braveheart, Lethal Weapon, Payback, and Signs was blacklisted, and he's been relegated to playing parts in smaller movies over the last few years.

Blood Father is no doubt a smaller film too, but it's a really good one, and it lets Gibson shine in a way that he hasn't in a very long time.

John Link is an ex-con who lives in a shitty trailer in desert, making ends meet as a tattoo artist. He's doing his best to keep on the straight and narrow; he's been in AA for two years, and his best friend is his sponsor. He's also someone that you don't want to piss off.

IF THIS IS HIM CLEAN, I'D HATE TO SEE HIM ON A BENDER.

John has been searching for his long-estranged daughter, Lydia, who ran away from home and hasn't been seen in months. When she calls him out of the blue, asking him to help her out of a bad situation, he jumps at the chance to make up for being such a shitty, absentee father. He picks her up and brings her home, telling her that he'll keep her safe from whatever danger she's in... which works out well until three Cartel members show up and try to kill them, destroying his home in the process.

THAT GIRL IS TROUBLE.

The two take to the road, with pissed-off cartel members, pissed off white supremacists, and a tatted Sicario all out for their blood, but John is one bad hombre himself, and there's no way that he's going to let these scumbags hurt his baby girl. Because he's the Blood Father!

SO LOVING. SO NURTURING.

First of all, any idiot out there who tells you that Blood Father is basically Taken Part 4, or anything even remotely close, is an idiot. Idiot, I say. there, I said it three times for emphasis.

I expected Blood Father to be an all-out action fest in which Mel Gibson runs around beating people to bloody pulps left and right, but it ended up being more than that. There were plenty of emotional beats, and even some humor, that balanced the action, and made the more visceral moments of the movie feel like they meant more.

The thing that really sold this movie for me, was seeing Mel Gibson in full bad-ass mode. John Link isn't some unstoppable bad-ass who strikes cool poses, or who says the perfect, awesome line every time he speaks, but the way that Mel Gibson plays him makes him seem formidable as hell; he's an ex-con who you just know isn't the type of dude to fuck with, but he's also really likable and deeply flawed, which makes him seem more realistic.Mel Gibson is ferocious in this one, but he's real, and that makes all the difference.

The relationship between John and his troubled-as-hell daughter felt genuine to me, even if it was a bit schmaltzy at times. I've seen tons of movies that have played the "estranged parent/child come together and learn to love one another again" card, but the way it's done in Blood Father made me forget just how familiar that trope is. I credit Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty for that. Both were excellent in their roles.

AND LET US NOT FORGET HOW AWESOME WILLIAM H. MACY IS.

I honestly thought that the ending was a bit of a letdown. There was some great build-up, excellent character development, and tension to spare throughout this one, which lead to a quick (albeit awesome) finale, and a sappy epilogue that just felt misplaced. It's a minor gripe, but it irked me.

Also, the way that Michael Parks' character was written felt really odd to me.

AND THE BIKE GETTING TRASHED WAS A DAMN TRAGEDY.

Necessity or not, Mel should have never shaved that beard. It was wicked.

BEARD FATHER.

We get some bloody gun violence, and Mel Gibson kicking various ass in pretty visceral fashion.

YOU CAN BIND HIS HANDS AND HOLD HIM AT GUNPOINT, BUT YOU CAN NEVER REALLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HIM.

None, although Erin Moriarty was looking sassy in some of her skimpy outfits.

SASSY.

At 88-minutes, Blood Father is a lean, mean, road revenge picture with heart, all of which is anchored by two great lead performances. If you're a Mel Gibson fan, there's no way that this movie won't give you maximum enjoyment, even if only for his inspired performance. 

B+

Blood Father is on VOD, and in limited theaters, now.

Erin Moriarty was a bad girl in this one.