Kate Beckinsale is back channelling her badassery in this ‘Crank’ like action thriller for Amazon Prime. But does it electrify, or fail to create even the smallest of sparks?
Lindy (Kate Beckinsale) is a bouncer with a murderous impulse caused by anger-management issues, that is suppressed by an electrically charged vest that she has to wear in order to prevent psychotic rage. But after her recently proclaimed boyfriend is killed, she ditches the vest and seeks answers. She’s kicking ass and taking names as she dives further into a crime syndicate she believes to be responsible for her boyfriends death.
Fans of the Underworld movie saga will tell you that Beckinsale has the credentials to be a great action heroine. Total Recall (2012) and Van Helsing (2004) are also evidence of this. But much like those films, Jolt has Beckinsale soaring far above what the rest of the project has to offer.
Tripe action fodder that does little to break away from what is standard practice in the genre. Dull, uninspired action sequences, shoddy and chaotic camerawork, and many of the generic narrative genre clichés are at play.
Even beyond Beckinsale herself, there’s very little to visually appreciate. The colour saturations and filters applied in the editing room would make Claude Monet roll in his grave. It’s a constant visual representation of a headache, with the end credits being the paracetamol.
With a support cast that has Stanley Tucci (Supernova, The Lovely Bones) and David Bradley (Harry Potter, Hot Fuzz) amongst it, you’d expect this feature to be anything but boring. But sadly that isn’t the case. For a film that prides itself on being frantic and constantly fast paced, the final product ends up leaving you lethargic and undoubtedly unsatisfied and the cast are left desperately trying to sweep up the mess.
Director Tanya Wexler has gone for this gender reversed, Crank (2006) styled, balls to the wall action thriller. Sadly with an emphasis on balls and less on thriller. Jolt may only be 90 minutes, but there’s not a great deal it does with that time.
Beckinsale is delightful to watch as always, but she’s solely responsible for all the energy this movie has. It’s in need of a defibrillator straight to its core to shake things up and fill it with the high voltage that this film seemingly has in reserve. Or perhaps the defibrillator is needed to wake me up.
Critical Clay 