By Nolan P. Smith

I held off on this review until the movie was released digitally, given the current COVID-19 situation with theaters being closed. Now that Bloodshot has hit the digital realm, let’s talk about the first-ever movie featuring a Valiant Comics hero.

Directed by Dave Wilson, the film is based on the Valiant Comics hero Bloodshot, a mercenary with his body infused with nanites, tiny machines in his blood that serves as a healing factor, making him hard to kill. Vin Diesel plays Ray Garrison, an elite soldier who is killed by one of his targets in the armed forces. Not only that, but they kill his wife as well. Garrison is brought back to life by Project Rising Spirit and Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce). The good doctor explains how Ray died, who killed him, and how he was brought back to life with nanites. Ray meets other veterans who have been given a second chance at life, including KT (Eiza Gonzalez) and Jimmy (Sam Heughan). But once Ray goes rogue and kills the man responsible for his wife’s death, the story really begins.

It seems that Ray’s current situation and his tragedy have all been orchestrated by Project Rising Spirit, assigning new targets in Ray’s memories as they change the face of the man who killed Ray’s wife for added revenge-driven motivation. Once Ray finds out, it’s a battle of the super-enhanced as Ray takes on Project Rising Spirit for a new shot at life. Sounds exciting and entertaining, right?

Sadly, it is not.

Coming from a diehard Bloodshot and Valiant fan, I was severely let down by this film. It felt like a soulless, heartless action flick with more monologue than action. I am a fan of Diesel, but this script was just bad, so the actors can only do what they can. Bloodshot is such a cool and unique character, but with this film, we get more of a cookie-cutter action flick that evokes memories of the bland Assassin’s Creed film while trying to mix parts of Iron Man with the over the top nature of Fast and the Furious. The most significant aspect missing here was the heart: you didn’t care if Ray lived or died, same with anyone in the film. It was loud, repetitive (and not in a good “Groundhog Day” kind of way), and downright boring.

If you are looking for a film to kickstart the cinematic Valiant universe, this isn’t it. Again, I am a big fan of Bloodshot and Valiant Comics, but this film completely missed its mark.

Rating: 3.0 out of 10. 

Nolan P. Smith is the Editor and Co-Founder of Pastrami Nation. Being a reporter for the past ten years, he has worked for a variety of media outlets, from newsprint to the ever-evolving internet platform. Residing in Victorville, CA, writing has always been a significant aspect of his life. You can usually find him at comic book conventions, looking for more amazing books to dive into, or at the gym at odd times of the night. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter @nolanpsmith, and Instagram @kakooee.