At cinemas Nationwide
Mel Gibson’s latest film Blood Father is a return to form for the troubled star after years of relative filmmaking absence following numerous controversies. Gibson stars as John Link, a recovering alcoholic living in a remote trailer park who is reunited with his estranged daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) after she contacts him whilst being pursued by Mexican drug cartel members looking to avenge the death of their leader.
Director Jean-François Richet (Assault on Precinct 13) delivers fast-paced action that is also coherently shot, with little use of the over-editing and ‘shaky-cam’ visuals that plague many modern-day Hollywood action films. A particular example is a tense chase sequence involving Gibson killing his pursuer by getting him run over by a tanker lorry, which resembles a scene from Gibson’s breakout film Mad Max.
The film also features Gibson’s trademark dark humour, particularly in his witty but tender exchanges with Lydia, which bear a resemblance to the chemistry between Gibson and Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon films. Moriarty provides an off-beat yet vulnerable performance as Lydia that complements Gibson’s intense portrayal of Link. However, Gibson doesn’t shy away from adding his characteristic touch of manic humour to the part – most notably during an assault by the cartel members on Link’s trailer, where Gibson unleashes a barrage of one-liners worthy of Martin Riggs.
Despite the above praise, Blood Father does suffer from a few plot contrivances and character inconsistencies. Lydia’s character is a little too naive to be completely convincing as a Mexican cartel accomplice – she asks Gibson questions about prison that would be more appropriate for a small child to ask. The film’s breakneck pace also results in a reliance on convenient plot devices, such as Lydia not only being able to speak flawless Spanish but being able to charm a group of intimidating bikers to obtain information from them without being harmed in any way. The pace also results in any character development being limited to a few scenes and lines of dialogue. In particular, the audience is given little explanation as to what motivated Lydia to run away from her otherwise stable life and become a killer.
Despite these problems, Blood Father is a welcome return to form for Gibson after a long absence from leading roles – it’s good to have him back.