DVD In the Blood

I'll be honest about this film, I am NOT a big action film fan nor do I like ultra-violent films. In the Blood is clearly BOTH of these— especially the latter. The amazing thing is that although the violence made me cringe, it was also a movie that kept me glued to the screen…and my adrenalin pumping!

The film stars Gina Carano and if you've never heard of Miss Carano, I wouldn't be surprised. She's only done a few films, though she is famous…as an MMA and Muay Thai fighter!! And, as you'd expect from a woman with such training, her skills are INSANELY good. Heck, she seems tougher and more capable than all the male action stars of the genre—and she makes it all look so real! By comparison, films by Van Damme and Steven Seagal look like kids' films!!! I also love Carano because although she is pretty, she's NOT the Hollywood type. She has real curves and looks like she's NOT the product of plastic surgery and bulimia!!

The film is set on some fictional Spanish-speaking Caribbean nation or, perhaps, they intend it to be the Dominican Republic (there are three Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean—and it's not Cuba and they said it wasn't Puerto Rico in the movie*)—they never say. Regardless, the place is corrupt…very, very, very corrupt. It's so corrupt that when an American tourist is kidnapped (or possibly killed), those responsible for it pay EVERYONE to pretend it never happened—even the cops! So, this leaves Ana (Carano) all alone in a hostile country where practically no one seems able or willing to help. The neat thing about the film is that it is wonderful at misdirection. It's a very smart film as again and again I was surprised by who was behind all this and why. And, how it all ends is simply impossible to anticipate**.

Overall, this is a super-high action film with an amazing heroine—one that doesn't stand around waiting to be saved by a man—and I love that. Carano plays the real thing—and action hero in every sense of the word— and a darn scary one!!

So do I recommend the film? Well, I don't know. Its violence level is off the charts and it's certainly NOT a film for the kids, your mother or Father Flannigan! Plus, even if you THINK you like action films, you might just find this one too intense, bloody and violent. Often, Ana kills—much like Sonny Chiba did in his Street Fighter films. But aside from the violence, it's an exceptional film all around. Heck, even NOW after the movie's been over for some time, my heart is STILL pounding… it's that intense and that well made.

*They said the film is NOT set in Puerto Rico and talked about how they can escape to the nearby island of Puerto Rico. But, in reality, the film was actually made in Puerto Rico. I don't know what this will do for tourism!

**If you SERIOUSLY anticipated all the twists, turns and surprises in this film, drop me a line. You are DEFINITELY psychic and I want to talk to you about the Florida Lottery.

In the Blood has nearly the same plot as the Liam Neeson thriller Taken but it is much easier to swallow. Here again is another movie about someone who finds that their loved one has been kidnapped and must twist and turn into a seamy underworld to bring them back. The difference between the two is that the earlier picture was a high-gloss Hollywood production while this one is shot more like a documentary. It is by no means perfect, but you at least feel like you've entered into a very dark and dangerous world. You can believe what you're seeing.

Directed by former teen actor John Stockwell, In the Blood stars real life mixed-martial arts champ Gina Carano as Ava, who is on her honeymoon in the Caribbean with her new husband Derek. Stockwell's skill in the early scenes is to capture the lush atmosphere of this island. It looks like ad for a cruise line so we can easily understand how the two lovers get caught up in it.

Then something happens. At a nightclub, a small incident leads to a fight. Ava mops the floor with three guys who are about to beat up Derek. The next day, the couple go zip-lining. There's an accident and Derek is injured. An ambulance comes. She is told that she cannot ride with him, so she is told the name of the hospital that he is being taken to. When she gets there, she is told that he never checked in. Something is clearly wrong.

Dealing with a hard-weathered police officer (played by the ever- reliable Luis Guzmán) she is given the run-around. The cops seem to be following the pattern but are clearly dragging their feet. So, she decides to do some digging herself. Then follows a long, and quite dangerous, spiral into the dark underworld of the Latin American criminal underground in which Ava muscles and strong-arms one guy after another to get answers to Derek's whereabouts, which is especially tough since the wall of resistance is held up by the likes of Luis Guzmán, Danny Trejo and Stephen Lang.

More of the plot cannot be revealed except to say that what she uncovers is actually believable. Unlike Taken we can accept that Ava would be capable of twisting the arms of these grizzled tough guys. She is played by Gina Carano, who has a tight body and a muscular structure that allows us to believe that she could survive in this environment. She's not your wimpy little heroine, but has a personality and a build that reminds us of Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2.

If there's a weakness in the film, it is John Stockwell's insistence on wall to wall music. He wants to invoke a kind of documentary feel, but his film is often slick where it should feel like raw footage. This is probably the best film he's made so far. In the Blood, like most of his previous work indicates that Stockwell has a fascination with stories about American tourist pulled into the dark underbelly of Latin America. He previously made Into the Blue, a remake of The Deep, about a group of tourist who find themselves in trouble over the cargo of down airplane. And he made the silly horror adventure Turistas, about a group of tourists in Brazil who find themselves in trouble with members of an illegal organ transplant operation. The plots are similar, but what is clear is that Stockwell is a competent director but not yet a great one. Yet, in sense that with In the Blood, his work is improving. It's far from perfect but you get caught up in it.