Blood Work Reviews

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick so maybe I should give it a 2^nd chance at some point. Still, I remember quite well when I saw it, I wasn’t really sure what to expect but since it was directed by Clint Eastwood, I thought it would be at least a decent watch. Well, eventually, it turned out to be pretty weak, I’m afraid. Basically, before producing arguably some of his best directing efforts, Clint Eastwood ended a string of disappointing flicks with one of his worst movies. I have to admit it, it wasn’t really awful but it was definitely average and pretty tedious to watch. Basically, it is one of the last movies he directed in which he portrayed the main character (‘Gran Torino’ would be the last one) and the last time he played someone involved in law enforcement. Seriously, it was like watching a grand-daddy version of Dirty Harry and it wasn’t a pretty sight, I’m afraid. Furthermore, I really had a hard time to care about the story which was really pedestrian with the usual annoying twist at the end. To conclude, it was a really weak thriller and one of the most forgettable features delivered by this great director.

It seems the older Clint Eastwood becomes, the more mileage he can extract from his age and the more his aging persona appears to fit him. Embodying everything one could love about the movies, Clint is an everyman, an action hero, a tough-talker, a girl magnet and a keen-eyed detective all rolled into one. On top of this, he's also a masterful filmmaker. And for a man in his 70s, that's a tough act to beat. It's disappointing to report, then, that 2002's Blood Work (while well-crafted by director Eastwood) is such a routine, predictable and sometimes perilously naff thriller. In a sense, this movie is a bit like eating a meal you've already devoured hundreds of times before - familiar, fairly uneventful and boasting no real surprises, but tasty and inviting nonetheless.

In Blood Work, Eastwood continues his exploration of the aging action hero and takes it to the very brink of logical conclusion. Here the actor plays a retired FBI profiler named Terry McCaleb. Two year prior, he was working on a case concerning a serial killer renowned for leaving codes at every murder site. Flash forward to the present, and McCaleb is recovering after a heart transplant. A woman named Graciella Rivers (De Jesus) soon contacts McCaleb, asking him to investigate the death of her sister who was shot dead during a convenience store robbery. McCaleb reluctantly agrees to the assignment when he finds out that he received the heart of Graciella's sister.

Blood Work commences with a jazzy score that plays during the opening credits - an old-fashioned piece of music which establishes the picture as a throwback to an earlier era of more laid-back mystery thrillers. It's therefore a shame that Eastwood fails to capitalise on the film's potential. The script (penned by Brian Helgeland, who adapted Michael Connelly's novel of the same name) is pedestrian, while the plot is pure mechanics, with the wheels grinding at a pace so leisurely that it isn't difficult to predict the twists. The clues McCaleb unearths are so obvious that any half-thinking viewer will have solved the "whodunnit" of the film early into the proceedings. Once one determines the identity of the killer, the "why" of his actions isn't hard to deduce, and thus the majority of the movie is reduced to pointless running around. It's a bad sign if an audience can figure everything out before the characters, which makes them seem frustratingly slow and daft.

For the first hour of its runtime, Blood Work is a compelling thriller despite a painfully obvious plot trajectory and a few silly moments (an early foot-chase feels awkwardly tagged on and is quite laughable). Beyond the first hour, the film quickly falls apart. The proceedings become either clichéd or cringe-worthy (the relationship between McCaleb and Graciella reaching the bedroom, for instance). Blood Work is also quite lazy and poorly constructed, with the camera inexplicably lingering on things that will obviously have relevance later on and characters not mentioning small details which would clearly help solve the case. Aside from the clumsy screenplay, there are other annoyances associated with the flick. Characters possess a tendency to utter irritating and inappropriate wisecracks, for example, and the climax is far too Hollywood.

At least Eastwood's direction is top-notch (even if he falters when it comes to hiding future plot twists). Without ever feeling the need to indulge in the flashy editing techniques or the gimmicky camera work that disguises a lack of imagination in younger directors (such as Michael Bay), Eastwood handles Blood Work with smooth and precise skill. He's simply the best old-fashioned director of the 21st Century. And in front of the camera, the actor still emanates a gripping screen presence. Eastwood evokes his Dirty Harry image here; giving us an aging, flawed version of his most celebrated role. However the character of McCaleb is in some aspects unlike the heroes Eastwood has played in the past - he's not too physical, but more of a thinker. It's a pity the material fails to serve Eastwood's perfectly nuanced performance.

Blood Work is one of Eastwood's weakest efforts to date; suffering from exaggerated action, plenty of clichés and too many preposterous moments. But with the behind-the-scenes expertise of a director who cares about the art of filmmaking, this thriller is easily far more entertaining than it should have been. There's something about the flavour of Eastwood's work that allows a viewer to overlook the flaws and tiresome material...at least for a little while.

6.1/10