TITLE: Blood Father
Lionsgate
DIRECTOR: Jean-François Richet
WRITER: Peter Craig, Andrea Berloff
CAST: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, William H. Macy, Michael Parks
RUNNING TIME: 88 min
RATED: R (Violence, Language, Drug Use)
SPECIAL FEATURES: “Lost Souls: On the Road with Blood Father” Featurette
Available October 11th on DVD, Blu Ray, On Demand, Digital Download

John Link (Mel Gibson; Get the Gringo) is an ex-con whom is trying to get his life back on track. He goes to AA meetings, has found a great friend and sponsor Kirby (William H. Macy; Shameless) and has found work as a tattoo artist. The one thing that has him determined to keep on track is eventually seeing his daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty; Marvel’s Jessica Jones). He soon gets a strange phone call from Lydia asking for money and help. He drives to pick her up and can smell the drugs on her.  He tells her he will help her only if she stays the week and gets clean. She says she needs to run because she murdered her boyfriend Jonah (Diego Luna; Milk), the nephew of a notorius Mexican crime lord, and her boyfriend’s employees are now after her. Determined to keep his daughter safe, John seeks out his old criminal connections to cancel the price on Lydia’s head, and be the hero she needs him to be.

THE GOOD: Finally some good old fashioned Mel Gibson action drama! The acting is great, the story is intriguing, and the ending gives us all who think we failed our kids some hope. Michael Parks is a fantastic pseudo-villain thrown into the mix; he really knows how to portray a person you just plain loathe.

THE BAD: I was not satisfied with Erin Moriarty’s performance; I found her to be a little bit annoying and whiny. I guess my opinion could be attributed to parental frustrations, but nothing angers anyone more than seeing kids make stupid mistakes. I was disappointed there was no commentary offered on the Blu-Ray/DVD.

Blood Father is a negligent parent redemption film.  John Link owns up to his mistakes and tries his best to make up to his only child for the sins of his past, and protect her at all costs. It’s a welcoming stray from similar themed films like Taken or 3 Days to Kill.  Mel Gibson has put out some quasi-mediocre films as of late, and with Blood Father he may be on his way to a comeback.

ACTING: A
STORY: B
TECHNICAL: B
TOTAL RATING: B+
REVIEWED BY: JM Willis