Review: Blood Father

Mel Gibson used to be a very bad man, even hanging around white supremacists like Michael Parks. That was some time ago though, and after hitting rock bottom he has managed to pull himself together, and is now working as a tattoo artist out of his trailer somewhere in Nowheresville, California where he lives near his AA sponsor, played by William H. Macy. Out of the blue, the recovering alcoholic gets a call from his estranged 17 year-old daughter who has been a runaway for over 3 years. She’s gotten in with a very bad man (played by Diego Luna) and his criminal crew, and she’s in a lot of trouble. Having accidentally shooting someone during a robbery, she’s calling for some money to help her flee trouble from the Mexican drug cartels Luna was entangled with. He meets with the girl, and takes her back to his trailer. Unfortunately, the bad guys snuff out his place of residence and aim to kill the girl. Being a man capable of much violence and having fatherly instincts to protect his own, Gibson takes up arms and gets set to go to war. Miguel Sandoval plays a prison contact of Gibson’s who also has connections to the Mexican criminal underworld.

Given Mel Gibson’s ‘issues’ in recent years (and I’m neither forgiving nor defending him in any way as a human being), it’s probably not the worst thing in the world for him to be churning out B-grade crime/revenge flicks like this pretty entertaining one from 2016. Directed by Jean-Francois Richet (the flat remake of “Assault on Precinct 13”), it’s a more than decent, lean and mean B-movie with an A-list star to push it up a notch or so. Gibson plays the vengeful parent and violent former thug well. Since the character is played by a guy with an image on and off screen for being crazy, when the character makes threats…you believe some shit could very likely get fucked up. Although now in his early 60s, watching Mel Gibson beat the fuck out of people is more fun than Liam Neeson and his obscuring camera trickery try to look like he’s beating the fuck out of people. I’ve always compared Gibson to Glenn Ford, and not just because of “Ransom”. They’re both charismatic stars who were/are talented enough to be considered good actors. You won’t really see the comparison to Ford in this gritty and grimy film obviously (nor in his aforementioned off-screen failings), but the film definitely benefits from having a star and more than capable actor as its anchor.

Early on, things are quite troubling here. Apparently in America you can’t buy cigarettes without ID, but hey, here’s some bullets for you, little lady. ‘murrica, ladies and gents. Meanwhile, when we first meet Gibson he’s in AA and his sponsor is William H. Macy. Yeah, that’s a bit frightening to anyone who has seen “Shameless”. More “Run All Night” than “Taken”, it stays pretty well on the move for the most part and gives Gibson a chance to grizzle, brood, and look weary as hell. A hog-riding Gibson defending himself and his daughter from motorcycle thugs on the road is fun stuff, like a mixture of “Mad Max” and “Machete” (Gibson being the villain in “Machete Kills”, and quite solidly). They’re not in the film much, but a completely scummy Diego Luna steals his every scene and the aforementioned Macy works well with Gibson. In one of his last gigs, Michael Parks probably gives one of his better, less-mannered performances in a well-chosen part. Miguel Sandoval is amusingly cast as a head-tattooed, gold-toothed Hispanic prisoner with connections. His casting almost works.

A grizzled Mel Gibson is good for whatever this film is worth, and the film is worth more than I had anticipated. A fun, gritty little B-movie with an A-list star looking to climb his way out of exile. It’s no world-beater, but it does its job well. What more could you ask for? This was a pleasant surprise for me, though “Get the Gringo” wasn’t awful, either. Based on a Peter Craig (Ben Affleck’s disappointing “The Town”) novel, the script is by Craig himself and Andrea Berloff (“World Trade Centre”).

Rating: B-