In the Blood (I) (2014)
7/10
Five Star Movie With 3 Great Performances
23 September 2015
I live in Mexico, and while this is the Caribbean, the blending of the bad guys and the cops was too real. The common people have no control, and the narcos and the police find a way to work together. They feel there is no reason to shoot each other when they can all make money the easy way. Everyone who has anything is corrupt in Latin America. They protect what's theirs and to hell with everyone else. In The Blood got that right.

In The Blood is a boring, predictable story. It's a 4 or 5 star movie, except for 3 performances. Gina Carano is no Meryl Streep, but she is totally believable as the loyal, ass-kicking wife who will go to any lengths to protect her guy. The fight scenes are great, and worth slogging through the swamp of poor dialog and the formula plot.

The second performance that exceeds expectations is Luis Guzman as the police chief. He is perfect as the malignant, corrupt official with a face of stone. Then he is perfect when things don't go his way. Both his arrogance and vulnerability capture the essence of the Latina male.

The final excellent performance belongs to Stephen Lang as the Flashback Dad. How did Gina Carano's character get so tough? Stephen Lang plays Gina's outlaw dad. The tough love he gives her is intense and believable. He's only got a couple scenes, but then are intense. Whether he's playing a civil war general (Gettysburg), a mercenary trying to steal a planet from the natives

Danny Trejo also gets to play another knife wielding bad guy. Danny Trejo is always good, but he's like a Latin John Wayne. He plays himself perfectly every time.

You can't watch In The Blood like a normal movie, because it doesn't work like that. It's a boring story. You watch it to see the lovely Gina Carano beat up the bad guys and look good doing it. You watch it to see Luis Guzman play a villain so despicable you feel no regret when things don't go his way. Most of all, you watch In The Blood for the brief moments that Stephan Lang dominates the screen.

3 great performances. Skip the rest.
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