A different take on the honor of dueling the film Blunt Force Trauma comes to home video. The fictional action drama puts the audience inside the “sport” for money pitting the best fast draw artists up against each other for pride and glory. Very good acting, direction and cinematography make the story exciting, compelling and convincing. Now on DVD and Blu-ray for home viewing.
Dueling has been the way of the west in many films where one gunfighter stands several feet from the other and the one who pulls his gun from the holster and shoots the other dead first, wins. Taking it to a modern day level in South America fast draw artist John (Ryan Kwanten) has been making money on an underground dueling circuit. The duelists stand several yards apart protected by their Kevlar vests and when the signal is giving keep shooting until their opponent falls to the ground and won’t continue.
On one occasion following a shootout with an opponent he sits to watch a duel between two females. Following the match he’s approached by Colt (Freida Pinto), the winner of the drawdown. In the audience is the manager of the fastest gun alive Zorringer (Mickey Rourke) who only goes up against the best. While John has his mind set on winning against Zorringer, Colt wants to find Red Dolen who killed her brother in a duel.
The two team up and go on the road looking for gun fights that may bring them closer to their hunt. Director and writer Ken Sanzel (writer of the action/thriller The Replacement Killers) keeps his film going at a fast clip working new characters into the mix as the two gunfighters travel the secretive and illegal world of dueling. He keeps his camera close in so you can see and feel the intensity of the bullets hitting the vest. As each duel gets more dangerous, the height of the ferocity increases.
Adding a mix of emotion and adventure to the film we get an accomplished story that allows the audience to know their characters. As John a man who’s possessed with his ability to draw faster than most any challenger, Ryan Kwanten (TV’s “True Blood”) shows his character’s ability to face off against the best. He’s a very good actor and pulls off an above the line performance to win over an audience.
His tag along new partner Colt played by Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) has very good chemistry with Kwanten making the film compelling and sensual as the two continue their quest together. Colt has a one track mind and her swiftness combined with a vicious temper make her a person to be feared. But she knows that to let her defenses down would take her out of the game, so opening up her heart to John just isn’t in the cards.
Blunt Force Drama has not been rated by the MPAA but contains violence, sex and language. Pease be cautioned that the shootouts look very realistic so keep the immature from seeing the movie.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good action adventure that’s compelling. (B)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, Ryan Kwanten
Director and writer: Ken Sanzel
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Contains violence, language, sexual situations
Genre: Action, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min
Original Theatrical Release Date: July 20, 2015
Video Release Date: October 6, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available in Blu-ray)
Audio: English 5.1 Surround
Video: Widescreen, 16×9 TV’s, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Alchemy
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
