Blunt Force Trauma (2015)

Simply A Masterpiece

i must have seen a different film!!

Fresh and Exciting

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

Very tight and minimalist plot that builds directly to the climax of the movie. It was well thought out. There are five or six scenes in the movie centred around gunfighting, which are interesting for various reasons that usually have nothing to do with the 'sport' being depicted, and which I thought were very well done. As pointed out by another reviewer, one never feels any desire to be standing in a circle, so that was also well done. The film does not glorify the violence, or, leave you with the thought, for instance, that Kwantan's character is going to get out of any particular fight unscathed. As often happens in brutal sport films (e.g., Raging Bull, where this is done brilliantly), the violence is often a means for the characters to test, refine, explore, and purify themselves; cutting out all excess. However, in BFT it is presented in such a way that you know there is a basic lethality and lack of control to the sport: it could only appeal, for instance, if one considers spending life in a wheelchair an acceptable outcome of the testing.Ultimately, the movie is a character piece, and not, in its core, an action film. As such I admit I was not too interested in Freida Pinto's character during the first half, but by the ending she had essentially become the most interesting character, and one trapped in a surprising bind. Ryan Kwantan's character becomes more interesting as one discern's his chief features, but after a while, one hopes for some further development, and this simply does not come, at least, not directly in the shot scenes. Ultimately, the fixed nature Kwantan's essential character is a central point of the movie, and the consequences of that, indeed, are very well drawn.

Overall a decent and entertaining movie, as long as you employ "Suspension of Disbelief," but I'll leave the technical critique for the end. It was good to see Kwaten again (the main character's brother, "Jason," from "True Blood") and for the limited number of lines he was given, he was convincing. The concept of the film itself is interesting, and although the plot wasn't fully developed, it does have inertia. Other stars: Freida Pinto was great, and particularly gorgeous in this, but if you're seeing this movie because of Mickey Rourke's on the billing, don't - he's in about 4 minutes of it.Technically flawed: The movie's central plot of a dueling circuit essentially relies on all the fresh-off-the-street competitors to be perfect shots, whilst quick drawing and firing rapidly, which would be a difficult task for even a top tier competition marksman under that kind of pressure (but not as absurd as "The Walking Dead" in that regard). On a similar note, many of the "fighters'" gun choices would go through the vests the others use, especially when they lack trauma plates (and why would they NOT use trauma plates???), but again, this can all be filed under "overly critical" and put aside in the viewer's mind. (That's not a spoiler, one example is seen at minute 3 when someone has a Desert Eagle, and it was also glimpsed in the trailer).

No spoilers. Just an old reference.When I was younger, there was a thing called a "shaggy dog story".This movie has A LOT going for it. It has good character development, for example.Good basic plot.Good (although each mostly simple) complications to the plot.Some elements of the action were never adequately explained.But in the long run: too many things were not explained in the context. Many things seemed to happen with no rational motivation behind them.They all did lead to the end... but not in any logical manner.So, then comes the climax..."Shaggy dog story".