Bloodshot

At first, it might seem clever for Bloodshot to feature Guy Pearce flipping his role from Memento in this tale of an innocent assassin getting his memory reprogrammed for nefarious purposes. Then – if you’ve been watching too many movies – you’ll remember that plenty of trashy films have swiped Memento’s plot over the past two decades. Bloodshot is worthy of Pearce’s pedigree, though. This comic-book saga has Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) being implanted with false memories to supposedly avenge his wife. The bigger hook, however, is that Garrison’s a superhero loaded with nanobots who can instantly rebuild any wounds. The script sure feels like it was written for Diesel to show off his strengths as a terrifying force of nature who can suddenly turn into being a likable average guy. Bloodshot also offers up a supervillain who’s surprisingly believable for a production that’ll toss in a delivery truck full of flour just to create a cool action set piece. The biggest surprise, however, is a closing shot that suggests Sony’s serious about setting up a cinematic universe built around the Valiant comic book line. Most people in the audience will have no idea that the title character is an actual comics creation dating back to 1992. Bloodshot is still a promising start to what could’ve played as a joke – and don’t forget that the Guardians of the Galaxy were once D-listers in the comic biz, too.

[PG-13]