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Drama - Gangland

Blood Father (2016)

Duration1h 28m
RatingsUK: 15, USA: R, Most other countries: 16
Source of storyBased on a novel of the same name by Peter Craig
DirectorJean-François Richet 
Writers/ScriptPeter Craig, Andrea Berloff
RatingsIMDb: 6.4 by 58,661 people. Rotten Tomatoes: 89% by 97 critics

Elevator Pitch: Lydia, a young woman who has been missing since she was 14 years old, is a Mexican ganger’s moll, and is involved in the execution of members of a household who have apparently stolen cartel money. She accidentally shoots the gang leader (not fatally) and so goes on the run, and calls her estranged father, recently released from prison for help. The two end up being chased across the desert by the villains and the police, who have identified the girl as being involved in the murders, getting help where they can. But there is reward money offered making betrayal possible and their survival unlikely.

Content: There is no sex or nudity although a client had a tattoo done on her thigh (I think). The Mexicans are extremely violent and the gang includes a “sicario” who is apparently a name for a gang executioner, identified because he has no trouble killing policemen. Father and daughter travel in a variety of vehicles, mostly stolen, defending themselves with hand guns and shot guns. The New Mexico desert plays itself wonderfully. The trailer park where the father lives is desperately down at the heel, a pretty good example of some I have seen in Southern California. The villain has his hair cut causing me a bit of confusion.

A View: This outing was well liked by the critics  at 89% but not quite so much by the general public. Were people still put off by Mel Gibson’s errors in the past? In the event the film did not cost too much but apparently has not yet made its money back. I have usually tried to watch films without referring to any information prior to the viewing but have seen so much terrible stuff recently that I did check that Rotten Tomatoes had given it five stars before watching. Both Gibson and Moriarty are pretty good, and the action is restrained and often inventive, so what’s not to like? Probably worth the cost of a download. 

Additional Info: Mel Gibson seems to have spent some years more or less in the wilderness, but now seems to be making a bit of a come-back.

About Victor R Gibson

Author of this site three technical books and two novels


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