Transfusion (I) (2023) User Reviews

Serious movie with flawed ending.

[rhawdon-297-344030 · 6/10 · 29 January 2023]

A well acted and moving account of a loving family torn apart by a tragic accident. Explores what effect this can have on a father and son in particular. However I found the violent ending somewhat mystifying and unsatisfactory. It was as though the writer wasn't quite sure how to finish the story. Would have been better with an ultimate.redemption for both parent and child.

Good to see Sam Worthington in a serious role though, and the boy's performance is very moving. Also good to have a script without an excess of dialogue. In this case the silences, especially from Worthington's character, speak more than words. Writers take note.

It flopped in the last 15 minutes.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 6/10 · 21 January 2023]

It started off as a decent Aussie crime-drama film, but the last 15 minutes ruined it, and I attribute that to lazy writing. Actor and co-star Matt Nable makes his directorial debut with this film, as well as being his fourth writing credit. His rookie mistakes were evident and somewhat forgivable in his directing; the monotonic theme, the lack of any real urgency in most scenes, and the overall look and feel to this film. His writing was generic and predictable with boiler-plate set-ups and follow throughs to the narrative. At least it was all cohesive and had continuity, that's until the last 15 minutes, when Nable's character goes off the rails and attacks his fellow soldier for no reason explained whatsoever. It was just ridiculous lazy and convoluted writing, and made what decent narrative had occurred prior to that point feel insignificant. Nevertheless, the cinematography was excellent, as the score was decent, and the casting and performances on point, especially Nable and Worthington, and the beautiful Phoebe Tonkin was certainly easy to watch. But they weren't enough to boost the lack of energy, action and suspense this film needed. The pacing was too slow and there were many scenes that could've and should've been trimmed down or cut out. There just wasn't enough narrative to comfortable fill in the 106 min runtime. Had the last 15 mins been better written, I'd say it's a decent one-time watch, but the way it went off the rails, I feel like I wasted my time watching this.

Slow & boring

[heno-45762 · 4/10 · 21 January 2023]

Acting is on cue , the scenery is very beautiful, but one thing I can't really get my head around is Why this movie is going back-and-forth all the time through the whole movie at different time zones. It's very slow hard to figure out (what this movie is actually about) and what is the point? This movie was so overhyped on the radio and previews and it was just one big waste of time with to many sub plots.(Maybe as a mini series could of worked out). Thank you Stan you have done it again wasting good actors on a very poor script and didn't want to spend a lot of money. This movie could've been a lot better as the actual shots and action sequences that are rare in the movie were actually really good.

Dead on Arrival

[Silicone54 · 3/10 · 27 January 2023]

They blew their entire budget on the opening scene. A 10 minute backstory that served no purpose other than to create a trailer for the film.

The story is bland and goes nowhere fast. The wife/mother was killed in a car accident a few years earlier. Father and son haven't really moved past that trauma. Dad continues his military career and son goes to boarding school. When the dad gets discharged from the military he must become a full time parent.

Money troubles causes the dad and his old military officer to reunite for quick money schemes. At this point, you can cut scenes from any movie you've ever seen and you can call yourself a film director. It won't make a bit of difference since it your mish-mashed movie won't be any worse than this, perhaps even better.

There were plenty of plot holes which I just forgave because this was not a major production. The story is neither tragic nor uplifting it was just a money grab by some studio exec. No one should have green lighted this movie.

How to bore one to death instead of shooting them

[clementgermain-67862 · 2/10 · 21 January 2023]

I really tried, really .... The start of the movie immediately showed 2 things : the quality is a B movie instead of a movie with a star like Worthington : pale colours and most irritating continuing monotone background music. After 15 mintutes, the movie did not showed anything but a boring,; boring, boring kid and his boring father that acts boring towards his boring pregnant wife ... I do not understand why Mr Worthington accept to play in this kind of boring movies, except if you want to help people suffering insomnia ... Anyway, i did one good thing : I did not watch the movie till the end and I'm happy not to have wasted the full.106 minutes of my life.

Um where is all the action?!?!

[martinmatthewnovak · 3/10 · 21 January 2023]

I really tried with this movie. But the slow boring pace it just isn't it. I mean come on we are 36 minutes into the movie and we have one action scene??!! And the script is nothing to write home about in this movie. It had me screaming in my head CAN WE AT THIS TRY HERE🤣

I mean give credit to the cast for trying to carry a script that literally says have you gone to sleep yet directly in your face. If you go based on the trailer for this movie you will surely be disappointed. No directions, no action and certainly no purpose to have made this film. I honestly wish I could get that 36 minutes back and rewrite the script.

A good movie.

[stylishboy004 · 7/10 · 22 January 2023]

People don't understand movies and they are reviewing this. It's supposed to be slow and boring at times. But it's very nice. The story is something we have all seen before, with a little of twist here and there.

The great part is that Sam Worthington is a good actor and it's really fun to watch him. This should be Sam's comeback hit!

The bad part about is perhaps some of the story is convoluted and doesn't make sense. But that's about it, it is very good on the dialogue part, acting part and direction. Matthew Nable is excellent and it's a lot of fun to see him be intimidating at times.

Australia is a great country and they know their stuff. Overall a good watch.

To slow even for drama

[mesoreznica · 4/10 · 6 January 2024]

First mistake was going in to movie expecting action (labeled as: action, crime, thriller...).

Ok once you realize it is more of a drama talking about father/son life after father returned from war...you start to watch with different expectation. But even for drama it is veeeery slow. Almost nothing happens for half a movie.

It is hard to get in to characters when it is so slow and tiresome to watch.

The story is good, they had good actors ....I do not understand why they had to make it so dull!!

Some reviwers said that it was so good that "we sat on edge of our seats" through the movie. What?!?!? Nobody will seat on the edge of the seat in this movie. Falling asleep in your seat...yes.

Shame.

Good, very good

[R0lf3 · 7/10 · 22 January 2023]

Here I am thinking, good movies are still being made, as opposed to Hollywood blockbuster money makers, and Australian good movies at that (i.e., the dry, danger close, snow town etc.) and then I come back and read the comments "where's the action?" - are you daft!!?? Wtf?? Clearly there's a disconnect between good movies and what to expect... but poor reviews (sub-5), really? And this movie isn't without its flaws, but it resonated with me, really liked it, I've no doubt it might be received poorly, but keep it up movie makers. There is an audience who appreciates good story telling. Loved it, thanks.

Cheap or stupid

[bwilson-99135 · 3/10 · 21 January 2023]

So the special forces get to have flashlights strapped to their rifles, so they can have a big bullseye on their chest. To cheap for night vision or just ignorant? . Then the guy shows his son how to not sharpen a knife- backwards. Whats with the writers , ignorant or just don't care? Acting just ok . Turned the movie half way through. Gave myself enough time to know it was going to be a waste of my movie time. If you're going to have to spend an hour and 45 minutes watching a movie - drama, action, thriller, at least they could start out with something kind of believable. I got a bad taste in the first 5 minutes and never got rid of it!

Decent Aussie Flick

[miy66 · 8/10 · 21 January 2023]

This falls into the class of 'people story' and these do need to be done at a certain pace. Dad Sam having lost his wife in tragic circumstances is now attempting to raise his son while dealing with the trauma. A former Special Ops mate factors in and things get messy. This is not a fast paced action movie, and it's refreshing that it isn't as the story wouldn't work properly if it was. However, there is a lot happening and it certainly kept our interest. Relationship between Dad and son is great to watch. If you love a good people story and like relationship tales, then this is a good watch and we really enjoyed it.

Angst ridden

[m_oleyar · 7/10 · 24 June 2023]

Sam Worthington did an awesome job as a veteran trying to hold the broken pieces of his family together. The two young actors who played the protagonist's son did a great job. His friend did him no favours nor did the system. The music did suck and take away from the film. This was a heavyweight drama telling a serious story about a struggling small family, not an action thriller.

I don't believe it deserved the bad reviews it received. If serious drama is not you thing watch something else as this will not be you cup of tea. I really hope this movie doesn't get lost amongst most of the trash movies that are conveyor belted out from Hollywood.

Just how many times...

[jimj40 · 1/10 · 22 January 2023]

...do I have to write "Garbage from start to finish!" before I reach the required minimum number of characters?

The acting is abysmal, the budget probably minuscule - but still too high for this total washout. Paper-thin characters, the now-obligatory dumb and self-obsessed teenager, wooden acting, boring and predictable dialogue, and back-of-a-cigarette-packet "plot" - the full panoply of predictable and done-to-death tropes and non-existent Australian production values are here for all to see and suffer from.

Apparently Mr Worthington won the Australian Film Institute's Best Male Actor and then went to make a career voicing CGI characters; from the evidence of this film that was a very smart move on his part.

There is a nugget of good news here, however - no celluloid was wasted on producing this junk.

Great movie but background music ruined the movie

[johntate-65579 · 5/10 · 11 February 2023]

While a slow movie to start (very typically of Aussie movies), the plot developed showing the impact of war service and other life tragedies.

The acting was excellent showing the various reactions to these life tragedies.

Sam Worthington gave an excellent performance of the impact of war, the loss of his wife and battling to save the relationship with his son (both actors were also brilliant).

Unfortunately the background music nearly made us stop watching. Why the music in the first place and why so loud? Often the actors could not be understood.

We would have given the movie a higher rating if the editors had eliminated or reduced the music volume.

So slow paced and pointless it will lull you to sleep...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 27 February 2023]

Now, I have to admit that I was figuring an crime thriller with Sam Worthington might actually be worth sitting down to watch. Sure, I hadn't heard about "Transfusion" from writer and director Matt Nable prior to sitting down and watching it.

And talk about a swing and a miss. Running at 106 minutes, I ended up giving up after 53 minutes into the ordeal. The movie was just so insanely slow paced and uneventful that I just gave up and tossed the towel in the ring out of sheer and utter boredom. "Transfusion" didn't deliver anything anywhere remotely close to what I had hoped, and it was a rather boring movie experience.

Even with Sam Worthington in the leading role as Ryan Logan, the movie found no momentum. The actors and actresses in the movie virtually had nothing wholesome or worthwhile to work with in terms of interesting characters, riveting dialogue. So yeah, this movie was bland.

When I say that nothing happened in the movie, well at least the 53 minutes that I sat through before I gave up, then I am not kidding. Nothing literally happened, at least nothing worth mentioning or nothing that provided entertainment.

Needless to say that I am not returning to attempt to finishing watching the movie that Matt Nable concocted here. It just simply isn't worth the effort.

My rating of "Transfusion" lands on a two out of ten stars. And that is the production value alone that brings the movie up from a bottom-feeding score.

Don't Test Me.

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 28 January 2023]

This is another Australian feature. Johnny (Matt Nable) and Ryan Logan (Sam Worthington) fought in Iraq together. Ryan was a sniper and killed a bunch of people. Later at home his wife is pregnant and he has a young son Billy. A car accident kills his wife although we discover later it was his choice. They both needed blood and Ryan was the only donor available and he had to choose who would live and die. He opted to keep his son alive which he was beginning to regret when he became a teen problem. Ryan bounced from job to job. Neither one was doing well in life until Johnny pops back into his life. He is a second story man who needs a partner.

The film dragged on. It was rather pointless and ended at an odd spot. One that can be missed.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Here's what nobody's writing about

[whatithinkis · 7/10 · 9 October 2023]

Johnny's drunken beer and coke infused cryfest grieving session, right before the last assassin knocks on the door, is to "You weren't in love with me" by Billy Field, blasting in his apartment.

More particularly: "I was in love with you but you weren't in love with me . . ." which goes on to say "I'll have to keep it inside I don't know why."

Well. We do know why, don't we. Are there ANY women in this, other than the ghost of dead Justine? There are not. So. Who exactly is it Johnny can't talk about? Think about it.

Johnny has been stalking Ryan. Johnny has been craving Ryan. This not an Action film. Not Crime really. Not a Drama . . . Well sort of is a Drama, but mainly this a a Gay, Unrequited Love Romance.

I find it interesting that absolutely no one is addressing this.

Excellent work overall. Unfortunately a little slow out of the gate. But both leads are tremendous talents and the film is worthy, moving and tragic.

Why Do We Suck at Film Making???

[aedmondsmelbourne · 2/10 · 22 January 2023]

Being an Aussie I will watch any movie made here even though 99% of the time I shake my head at just how bad we are at making good films.

Most of them for some reason have to show the outback or the coastline. What, do they think Americans will eat it up just for that reason? A lot has changed since Crocodile Dundee you know!

In recent times there seems to also be this trend of making films based on a character struggling with their bland troubled life as he or she tries to raise a child and find work etc..

If we write a murder mystery again it has to be set in a rural town.

The stories are just so bland and I am not invested in the characters so I turn the film off after 15mins because I just don't care what happens to anyone and I am not going to waste my time finding out.

Our so called comedies are not funny, our action flicks have little action and will be based on something stupid like a giant squid or shark or crocodile.

We just don't have the ability to come up with any original unique interesting stories!

I watched Emily The Criminal last week and whilst it isn't going to win any oscars it was a great little story, one that could have been set here or any city in the world.

I cannot even name 5 good quality Aussie movies since 2000. It is embarrassing.

Amateur night.

[imseeg · 4/10 · 13 March 2023]

It's not easy making a solid, bleak thriller. They tried, but failed in the end.

The bad: this supposedly thriller simply wont become suspenseful. Not even the action scenes are anything special. Same old, same old.

But worse, the actors starring in this flick are tv movie actors. Not the worst, but definitely lacking charisma and acting qualities.

What's left? A boring movie in which even the few shootouts did not make sit on the edge of my seat.

This movie is all over the place. It wants to be too many things simultaneously. It wants to be thrilling (which it is not), but it also wants to be a sort of a family drama, which it definitely isnt either.

Amateur night....

Very good honest drama

[FilmGirlGail · 8/10 · 21 February 2023]

Not what I was expecting. This is a more realistic drama and not the typical action thriller I thought we were about to watch.

This is a more honest drama about life for a ex-SAS man suffering from PTSD and his son trying to survive day to day and overall together. As he gets into more and more debt, Worthington turns to his old sergeant to get some easy, but illegally earned, money.

Written, directed by and starring Matt Nable (ex NRL player) its a stunning piece of work.

Plus this is Edward Carmody's (16yo Billy) first tv or film appearance and I think he's amazing. An amazing piece of drama.

Don't waste your time. You're better off sleeping

[wilso-01931 · 2/10 · 22 January 2023]

Let's just say I signed up to leave a review on this.. it's slow, boring and I'm 45 minutes in to it, but it feels like an eternity. It's Sunday night and I have to go to bed, and I just wasted the last hour of my weekend on the most uneventful boring movie I've seen in 2023..

Storyline could have been summed up in a description shorter than this review. Honestly who ever was involved with this should just give up and find other work...Sam did a reasonable job, but other actors were taxing.

Rumour has it, that it is still going and nothing has happened yet. Stan, do vonsiderably etter or leave movies to Hollywood.

Takes sombre to a new level, credibility absent

[bertbristow · 4/10 · 23 January 2023]

The two good things about 'Transfusion' are in no particular order, the acting and the settings.

Much has been said about the pacing (what pacing?), less about the multiple murders that incredibly attract no attention at all. A shallow road side burial is all it takes to hide the last of five or was it six premeditated hits on the drug gang and no cops come asking? I had stopped caring at this stage.

The dead body in the unit in the 'no rounds' robbery triggers no investigation or detectives searching CCTV for two masked men in their own cars?

Were all of South Sydney CIB on leave or on points duty?

Then there's the cliche ending that solves everything.

Logan junior would most likely be in a worse PTSD mess than his old man, not happily learning to drive with a fresh start in a new location in year 12.

Major Drama, not much action

[happycowboych · 1/10 · 12 March 2023]

What a stupid movie.

Nothing to do with special forces like you are led to believe.

Wasted my money.

Drama, Drama, Drama.

It started out bad and ended worse.

This is not an emotionally charged thriller.

A bunch of Drama, Drama Drama.

I kept waiting for it to develop into something worth watching but it just kept going back and forth to the past and then present.

Wasted my time on this one.

Only watched it because of Sam Worthington.

After this and the second Avatar I place Sam on the B list.

Terrible movie, Terrible plot, Terrible acting.

Don't waste your time or money.

Just a bunch of stupid drama.

this sucks

[nicholasgshumphris · 2/10 · 7 February 2023]

I have never reviewed a movie in my life but i had to make an account to comment on this film.

This absolutley sucked from the details of soldiering to the storyline, especially the ending.

One more thing, no one in the army either active or veteran calls someone by their rank, i cringed everytime i heard the guy call sam worthington 'corporal'

I have never reviewed a movie in my life but i had to make an account to comment on this film.

This absolutley sucked from the details of soldiering to the storyline, especially the ending.

One more thing, no one in the army either active or veteran calls someone by their rank, i cringed everytime i heard the guy call sam worthington 'corporal'

Average at best...

[thomaswsmith-72061 · 2/10 · 23 January 2023]

The movie plays in random segments instead from start to finish, which is completely unnecessary. It was slow and boring yet now also mildly confusing to follow. The story is average at best. I didn't even finish the film... and I never stop a film before it's actually finished. For some reason aswell I seem to be one of the few people who think Sam Worthington is a less than average actor. I did not believe any of his acting in this film. He didn't seem like he was ex-military and his PTSD/anger issues seemed over acted and hard to believe. I did try though. It feels like people assume Sam Worthington is a good actor just because Avatar was the highest grossing film ever...