Blunt Force Trauma tells the story of John (Ryan Kwanten) and Colt (Frieda Pinto). The two are duelists, taking part in underground quickdraw contests in South America. They wager money to get into a ring wearing a Kevlar vest, hoping to be just a little bit faster than their opponents. Colt is on a quest to find the man that caused the death of her brother. John is out there trying to find a legend in this circuit. The two end up helping each other out, traveling from town to town, and risking their lives in these gunfights while looking for clues that will lead them to their respective targets.
The movie seems to take itself very seriously, in spite of the fact that many of its elements are really silly. Take the game at the heart of it, for example. Participants stand in circles, and wait for some kind of signal to start shooting. Just hitting your opponent doesn't immediately end the match. Someone loses when they can't get back into their circle after a certain period of time. It is a baffling contest that isn't even very exciting to watch. The film, in spite of all of its philosophical aspirations, just doesn't seem to think things through.
The duels are the core problem of the movie. They just never make any sense. They go through the trouble, for example, of asking participants to wear Kevlar vests. This is presumably to reduce the chance of dying. But the mechanics seem to ensure that the duel won't end with just one hit. The title of the film actually refers to the kind of damage one takes from taking a hit in one of these vests, and a lot of time is dedicated to describing the kind of pain and injury one can sustain. They also point that after a first hit, a Kevlar vest is pretty much useless.
And yet the film carries on in the way that it does, not worried about the practicalities in any way whatsoever. A film like this, which involves an esoteric and bizarre mechanic, really needs well-established rules. It might have been easier to take if the actual game was fun to watch. But it isn't. The film as a whole feels pretty static, but the shortcomings are much clearer in the duels. The filmmaking really fails to imbue these standoffs with tension. It doesn't feel dangerous or scary or exciting. It just feels like another static piece in a movie that refuses to move.
The only member of this cast that seems aware of the film's general silliness is Mickey Rourke. Once he hits the screen, things pick up, the actor lending a wry yet inexplicably crazed energy to the proceedings. His presence comes a little too late, however. Much of the film is carried on the shoulders of Ryan Kwanten, whose gruff delivery feels like a put on. Frieda Pinto suffers as the token female lead, existing primarily to provide the hero with a love interest. Her character goes nowhere, her quest pretty much abandoned as the man becomes her main priority.
Blunt Force Trauma is just really hard to swallow. It is a collection of macho clichés wrapped up in a concept that doesn't really make any sense. The film drifts aimlessly through its second act, sending its characters in vague directions, putting up the occasional gunfight to provide some measure of excitement. Except it isn’t exciting. And it isn’t smart. The game at the center of the film saps all the tension and energy out of gunfights. The film just creates something incredibly boneheaded and asks us to consider the philosophical ramifications to the people who take part.
My Rating:
