Blood Father

If there can be a Tongfather, why not a “blood” relative in this tough-as-nails B-thriller that returns Mel Gibson to his forte: the “Mad Max” revenge saga. Ex-con Link has gone straight with an AA support sponsor (William H. Macy), and he survives as a trailer park tattoo artist after serving a seven-year stretch for keeping quiet about his old biker buddies. When he gets a call from his headstrong daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) who’s gotten mixed up with the “wrong” drug dealers only to become a target herself, he cranks up the Nova and reverts to his hellraiser former self to protect her. From French action director Jean-Francois Richet, who gives Gibson the tumbleweed necessary to chew on, it’s the kind of film Liam Neeson resorts to every once in a while, but a loco Mel is more believable in the role of pissed off papa! For every frou-frou staunch dramedy and CGI’d period fantasy, this kind of throwback to early ’80s “get-even” flick makes me happy! And with Michael Parks and Macy tossed in for good measure, it becomes a personal favorite!

[R]