Blunt Force Trauma

Two competitors take positions roughly twenty feet away from one another, each within set limits, each armed with a cocked pistol. They sport bulletproof vests and holsters. The intent is to push the adversary back with a single shot or a series of shots when the referee signals the start after a count. Accidental or purposeful strikes to any other body part apart from the vest are considered automatic disqualification.

Now, personally, I’m not so confident, but that sure sounds like a preposterous, to say the least, way to entertain yourself. Blunt Force Trauma is a movie that is incapsulated by this facet, and this is unfortunate because there my incredulity did not allow me to enjoy a very well produced character piece which was almost well scripted.

The movie follows the character of John who is played by Ryan Kwanten from True Blood. He is a remarkable competitor in this game, however his goal is to contend against the best fighter of the sport, Zorringer, played by Mickey Rourke. While playing insano-shot (as I will coin this phrase), John fights with random opponents in hopes of grabbing the attention of master Zorringer, but numbers don’t have to seek him out.

His time in the game rounded up a few fighters who now, he claims, were within his reach which is what brings Colt’s attention, played by Freida Pinto. What drives her is a man who had already fought with her brother and won. The two are going on a road trip across the country to meet one of Zorringer’s agents where John expects to meet his match and Colt is ready to kill John’s brother.

The first scene tries to explain the game with minimal dialogue in the first couple of minutes. The narrator seems to think that these rules will allow the tension to gradually escalate, which always pays off. With that said, I stand corrected for ‘wonder’ succeeding in achieving just one of these unique outcomes. My head shaking during a ‘fight’ will remain a mystery. And fights there are a plenty from accepted games to dodgy dealings and arranged by overzealous cops. Each time rather than thrill, the appeal of the game and its danger to the player simply never succeeds.

This is very disappointing because I genuinely appreciated the interaction between Kwanten and Pinto even Rourke manages to inject a bit of his own charm into the proceedings, even if it is only in the closing scenes. The acting is passable, and the script is not bad, and the insano-shot surely leaves a bad taste.

Insano-shot midway ruins everything. Even the moments where the script tries to promote the game higher than itself, and tries to call it a ‘moment of form and grace,’ only serve to argue against selling the idea any better than it has been. Maybe if this had been street boxing, or hand-to-hand fighting, or even just poker, Blunt Force Trauma would have been much better. Almost untouched, that could have been made to pass with flying colors. As it stands, it engaged with me simply never.

Blunt Force Trauma is handicapped from the get go due to an undercooked premise that serves as a plot device and pauses the film’s progression. Any tension is immediately squandered as all I can think of is standing across the person whose goal it is to shoot at me while I try to aim at a target. If my focus is on the plot and not the characters, then you have successfully lost the audience.

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