Blood Father

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with cases of bullets being bought at a store by a woman, Lydia (Erin Moriarty). After she buys them, she goes outside and gets into a car with her boyfriend, Jonah (Diego Luna), along with some other men. The men takes the bullets and load their guns as they drive to their location: a rented house. When they get there, the men (except Jonah) head inside. The tenants of the house are paid by Jonah to stash drug money in the walls of the house. Jonah is here because the tenants have apparently stolen said money and he has come to find out where the money is and to kill them. Before Jonah heads inside, he notices that Lydia seems really nervous because of what is about to happen. So, he gives her a line of cocaine to get her mind off of what is going down. He tells her to go watch the backyard where the children are playing.Lydia is covering the backyard and watching the tenants' children, when she hears gunshots. She heads inside and notices a dead man on the ground and a woman tied up. Jonah is threatening the woman and demands to know what they did with the money. Lydia tries to reason with Jonah about sparing the woman's life, but Jonah is dead set on finding out where the money is and killing the woman. After a heated exchange between the two, Lydia accidentally shoots Jonah in the neck, seemingly killing him. She runs out of the house as Jonah's men hear the shot and rush to his aid.Many miles away is Lydia's father, John (Mel Gibson), is introduced. John is an ex-convict and recent parolee. He's sharing his testimony at an AA meeting with his sponsor, Kirby (William H. Macy). After the meeting, he goes home to his trailer which also doubles as his work (Missing Link Tattoo parlor). Later that day, the phone rings and he picks it up. It is Lydia on the other end. She tells him that she's in trouble. She tells him where she is and he tells her that he will pick her up in Santa Monica.That night, he picks her up and drives her back to his place. Since Lydia is coming down from the drugs and persumably alcohol, she passes out on the drive to John's place. When they get to his place, he carries her in and lets her sleep. A few days pass and John notices Lydia having mood swings. Sometimes, she's mellow and, other times, she's wired and talking non-stop. He looks through her purse and finds packets of drugs. He asks her about how long she's been on these drugs and then cleans her purse of all the drugs that he can find.That night, some gang members drive up to John's place. When they get out of the car, he asks them what they want and they say they want tattoos. John says that he's closed. He closes the door to his trailer and notices Lydia looking out the window at them. Suddenly, bullets start piercing the windows of the trailer, as John and Lydia duck down to avoid being shot. John starts talking about how this isn't going to look good to his parole officer. A gang member sticks his hand inside a broken window to open it, but John grabs his knife and stabs the man's hand several times. A few seconds later, the leader rams his SUV into John's trailer, flipping it onto its side.Before any more damage can occur, Kirby, along with many of the other residents of the trailer park arrive with shotguns in hand. A standoff occurs, but the gang members proceed to leave, once it becomes clear that they are outnumbered. Hearing police sirens in the distance, John, going against Kirby's wishes for them to stay and talk to the police, leaves with Lydia.The next day, Lydia tells John the whole story about what happened with Jonah and how she ended up killing him. They stop at a motel, where they are able to rest for a little while. When John goes to sleep for the night, Lydia sneaks out to talk to the motel clerk (Thomas Mann). He tells her that the police are on their way. He's helping them because he likes Lydia.Lydia calls John on the phone and tells him that they need to leave immediately. John grabs their stuff and heads to the front desk. Lydia tells him that the clerk is helping them. The clerk gives them a key to another room where they can hide out. They are able to make it to the room. John and Lydia watch from the window as the cops search through the rooms.All of a sudden, a shotgun blast rings loud. John and Lydia watch as a cop gets blasted backwards and tumbles over the rail off the second floor. A tattooed man emerges from the room. John is able to figure out that he's a professional assassin, working for the Mexican drug cartel. John and Lydia are able to make it to a car. John tries to hot-wire it, but this attracts the attention of the assassin. The assassin prepares to shoot at their car, but another cop appears, which the assassin easily kills. John successfully hotwires the car and is able to narrowly avoid the assassin's bullets as they escape the motel parking lot.John and Lydia go to see one of John's old friends, Preacher (Michael Parks). Preacher served with John in the Vietnam War. It is revealed that John took the rap for something that Preacher did and is the reason why John was serving time in prison. At first, Preacher appears to want to help John and Lydia. However, the next morning, Preacher's wife, Cherise (Dale Dickey) awakens John and Lydia with a gun pointed at them and tells them to get up. She walks them out to a shed out back where Preacher works out of. Preacher tells John that he is going to turn them over to the cops to collect the reward, since he has fallen on hard times. Suddenly, John punches Cherise and turns the tables on them. He gets on a motorcycle and takes off with Lydia.As they're driving, two assassins appear, trying to kill them on the road. John stops in the middle of the road, pulls out a shotgun and blasts one of the assassins, killing him. The other speeds by. John and Lydia take off after him. John shoots at the assassin, but misses. Trying to avoid being shot, the assassin drives into the opposite lane and collides head-on with a truck, killing him.John and Lydia take refuge at another motel, where Lydia procedes to dye her hair blonde and John shaves off his beard. He tells Lydia that he has to go see someone, but to call him if anything happens.John goes to see his old friend, Arturo (Miguel Sandoval), in prison. Arturo tells him about Jonah. He tells him that Jonah was, himself, stealing the money from the stash houses and framing the tenants.Back at the motel, Lydia gets a call from Kirby, telling her that she needs to go to a public place. She goes to a movie theater, where she gets a call. She picks up the phone and hears Jonah's voice. He's still alive, despite being shot in the throat. He tells her that he had to have extensive surgery in order to survive. He appears behind her. She makes a dash to the parking lot, where one of Jonah's men knocks her unconscious. They throw her in the backseat and escape.John gets a call. He picks up the phone and Jonah tells him that they have Lydia. Jonah also has Kirby too. Jonah puts Kirby on the phone. A visibly beaten Kirby tells John that he tried, but that he's sorry. One of Jonah's men shoots Kirby multiple times, killing him.John gets very angry and tells them that he killed his best friend. Jonah tells John that he shouldn't have picked a snitch for a sponsor. John tells Jonah that he knows everything about him and that he will tell his uncle (who's in the Mexican drug cartel) everything about how he's been stealing all of the money for himself, unless he sees Lydia. John and Jonah are able to arrange a meet.John goes back to Preacher's, where he grabs some grenades and a landmine and puts it in a bag. Preacher appears with a gun and tells John that he has guts coming back, to which John suddenly shoots Preacher dead.John goes to the meet on his motorcycle. At the location in the desert, John parks his motorcycle in front of Jonah's SUV, blocking it from leaving. John is able to plant the landmine against his motorcycle, that way if the motorcycle is moved, the landmine goes off.Jonah's men strip John of any weapons and put him in the backseat of the SUV with Lydia. As Jonah attempts to drive off, he tells his men to go move to John's bike. Two of his men go to move the bike and, unknowingly, set off the landmine, killing them. John, taking advantage of the distraction, fights with Jonah and another member of his gang in the SUV. Jonah gets out of the SUV, as John bites off part of the gang member's ear. John tries to wrangle the gun out of the gang member's hand, but is able to use it to shoot Jonah in the shoulder, sending him to the ground. John gets the gun and shoots the gang member through the head, killing him. Jonah gets up and shoots at John, but John uses the dead gang member's body as a shield. Jonah runs off into the desert.John rips the tape off of Lydia's hands. He gets out of the SUV, but is suddenly shot in the stomach by the assassin from the motel. John and Lydia duck behind Jonah's SUV. John urges Lydia to go while he provides cover, but she tells him that she's not leaving him. John and Lydia make a run to another car. As they're running, John shoots back at the assassin, hitting him. John pushes Lydia out of the way, as the assassin takes another shot at them. John gets shot again. He falls to the ground.Lydia gets into the car and drives it to John, providing cover from the assassin's bullets. Lydia goes over to John and he cradles her in his arms. He notices, under the car, the assassin approaching them. The assassin tries to sneak up on them, but when he comes to where John and Lydia supposedly are, they're not there. He looks over and sees John alongside the car. John shoots the assassin in the head, killing him, but not before the assassin gets a couple of shots off at John, hitting him a third time.John gets happy that he got the drop on the assassin. John looks down and notices all the blood on him, gets mad and shoots the dead assassin again. John tells Lydia that he loves her, as he dies.Police cars arrive and arrest Jonah. He is taken to prison. Some time later, he is approached by Arturo and his prison gang, where he will presumably be killed.In the final scene, Lydia is shown at an AA meeting where she shares: "I've been sober a year, but I miss my Dad so much that sometimes I can't sleep at night, but I tell myself that he's watching over me. Sometimes, there's this shame that almost breaks my back, but I tell myself, when you owe your life to someone, you better live it... So I just say thank you."Fade to black.

Tags: comedy, suspenseful, neo noir, murder, violence, revenge

Review:
Although Blood Father does not bring anything new to the table in terms of storytelling, it manages to provide decent entertainment by taking advantage of its filming locations, a good cast and somewhat interesting, although undeveloped, lead characters.
Add an anticlimactic and abrupt ending, and an almost shameful use of pretty interesting supporting characters, one has to wonder what Blood Father really has to offer.The answer is an overall pretty good time, despite its flaws, thanks to sympathetic characters, above-average dialogue for the genre, some gritty moments, very welcome touches of humor and great cinematography.
Moreover, there are a few sequences, such as the first scene at the store and the scene when Link and Lydia are in the back of a truck filled with illegal Mexican immigrants, where the film humorously takes aim at some absurdities, such as a minor buying boxes of ammo without being asked for her ID, but being denied a pack of cigarettes because she's underage, or Lydia countering her dad's argument that illegal Mexican immigrants are "stealing" fruit-picking jobs from white Americans.While the film offers some nice set-pieces, as a sequence of events, Blood Father's script does not profit from the best possible dramatic continuity, and ultimately falls short on delivering any truly memorable moment whatsoever.
I expected it to be a Mel Gibson driven movie with a simple story.I also knew the director Richet is known for the qualities of his Mesrine Biopic, but still didn't await the same genre.Blood Father is not a very serious movie trying to reflect reality to the bone, but an old school action movie with a fresh tight rhythm.
It respects its viewer in a way that makes me feel bad for liking these soulless blockbusters we're being fed these days.The funny thing is that the movie deliberately reflects Mel's filmography and personal story in different ways without pushing it too far.I went to see Mel Gibson again, and boy I did!I need more Mel, g*ddammit!.
It's a fitting noir-esque introduction to Link, but also—perhaps more appropriately, especially as he's talking straight at the camera when he says it—it seems to be coming from Gibson himself.Directed by Jean-François Richet, who helmed 2008's gripping gangster diptych Mesrine, Blood Father seems at first glance to be another addition to the tried-and-true Gibson formula: a brutal guy on the wrong side of the tracks takes on those who wronged him, often in typically gruesome fashion.
A merciless story of retribution.Directed by Peter Craig, Mel Gibson plays an ex-convict and former alcoholic named John Link who's trying his best to keep it together .
Until one day when his estranged daughter comes back into his life but with a big secret, turns out, the drug cartel is hunting her down, a situation that forces Link to use his past connections and his skills to keep his daughter alive.Much of the film is set in the desert, so one can't help but make a stretched comparison to Mel Gibson's old days as Mad Max. The best way to describe BLOOD FATHER in a way that today's audiences would understand is that Gibson's character, John Link, is more or less kinda like Liam Neeson's character in "Taken" franchise, but with less resources and Link is more rough around the edges.
When runaway teenager Lydia (Erin Moriarity) accidentally shoots her drugs cartel boyfriend, she makes a desperate run for it, asking for help from her estranged father Link (Mel Gibson), a tough ex-con still on parole.
Together, father and daughter go into hiding, pursued by vicious killers.I know that Mad Mel doesn't think very highly of the English (or anyone who is not an Australian/American Catholic, for that matter), but I'm still a fan, and Blood Father proves that he still has what it takes, the star putting in a moving performance as a caring father who will do anything to protect his daughter.This isn't an all-out action-fest, which might disappoint some viewers (although there are some great action scenes to be had)—it's a tale of redemption, with a flawed character doing his best to make up for past mistakes, which seems very apt: perhaps Hollywood should learn something from this film and give its troubled star one more chance.Best moments: the opening bit of satire—16 year-old Lydia buys countless packs of bullets at a store without a problem, but is carded when it comes to cigarettes; the motorbike chase scene (nice to see Mel toting a shotgun once again); and what's that?
this is still great movie,fun, crazy Performance from Mel Gibson Performance Little mix Country for old man Little bit of Mad Max and Run All Night western type Action Drama movie.
Plot follows Lydia(Erin Moriarty)she is with gang and her boyfriend Jonah (Diego Luna)was going into some random family house gang is just breaking in looking for what they want, rather then Jonah told Lydia to shot mother but she shot her Jonah her boyfriend she run to call John Link (Mel Gibson)who was EX American Solider who use to be on Drugs and drinking is now lives on trailer Park he's living is tattooing people makes money out of it.
he release's that his daughter habituated to drugs and Alcohol, Lydia has text threats messages gang comes in they want Lydia Mel Gibson say's go away but they don't obey they chose to kill him and take his daughter but they don't know who they are messing with so John and Lydia on run he ends up shooting going crazy, still likable character but he has a lot of problems on past but he is not bad guy similar to Liam nession character from run all night who has a lot problems on past, so Jonah and his man and hit-man is called Sicario went out there to kill Lydia and John but john keeps killing hit-man they keep on running and running until he will kill them all to product his daughter.
very worth watching movie to watch badass bike 1997 Harley-Davidson Softail with Badass Scene firing double barrel shotgun it's like watching Mad Max sequel with same scene in mad max with bike chasing and one of action scenes fun to watch it's very fast pace of movie normal pace, you have crazy scene of Mel Gibson with Michael Parks very great crazy mad performance but i don't want to ruin movie away.
The Action is very good noting like mad max just Similar movie to this with Picture of camera film Mel Gibson has gone crazy, great performance but still i want Hollywood to hire Mel Gibson give him a last chance for movies like this and mad max franchise 9.10 i would recommend it for action fans if you love Mel Gibson and his movies or movies like run all night Similar more of no country for old man and mad max to run all night..
It's been 6 years since we had a good reason to be excited about a Mel Gibson movie and he's back with a bang and more than a few growls in Blood Father.
Gibson is at this best in years playing the hardened ex con Link with that same simmering intensity and wild-eyed look that he's been perfecting since Mad Max. The film contains some gorgeous cinematography reminiscent of old Sergio Leone westerns and more recent desert thrillers like No Country for Old Men. The supporting cast around Gibson and Moriarity is fantastic as well.
Macy steals his few scenes as Gibson's sponsor/best friend, Diego Luna is great as the main villain, and Michael Parks is extremely entertaining as a sociopathic ex Nazi and former colleague of Link's.
"An ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 16-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her." Honestly, Mel Gibson steals the show in playing Link, a man who's had a huge history of making mistakes and became an alcoholic.
I have never heard of it and just randomly came upon it.I have to say, it's one of the best movies of 2016 and one of Mel's best films - right up there with Mad Max!Great work guys!Loved it - it's a 10/10 from me!.
My love for Mel Gibson may have something to do with those hopes, and I've always liked old-fashioned and simple violent movies.
"Blood Father" is almost like a road trip movie, and there isn't as much action as you'd probably hope.
So yes, Mel Gibson is the best thing about this movie.But then there's also Erin Moriarty, who plays Gibson's long-lost daughter.
Mel Gibson (Link) a reforming alcoholic and parolee who loved his daughter Lydia more than his life, gives up everything he worked for to reform just to save Lydia ( Erin Moriarty) from crazy drug leader Jonah's (Diego Luna) wrath.
Fearing losing the daughter he failed when she was still a child, John takes her on the road and uses the skills he learned as a criminal to keep her out of harm's way.With Mad Max (1979) clearly serving as an inspiration, Blood Father is pure B-movie exploitation.
You when you hear about a movie going straight to DVD, you don't expect much, but this film, like Get the Gringo is a very high quality, well produced, and well written story with great actors.Mel Gibson is his usual gritty self, like we saw in Ransom, Payback, Get the Gringo, Edge of Darkness, the Patriot, Braveheart, etc, etc.Gibson plays an ex-con, seeking redemption by helping his long lost daughter survive some consequences of bad decisions she made..
Erin Moriarty, should expect a best supporting actress Oscar for her brilliant performance.Lets hope we haven't seen the end of Mel Gibson, he truly is still among the best.
When he gets a call from his estranged daughter Lydia (played by Erin Moriarty) who's hooked on drugs and is involved with a vicious drug cartel, John shelter her in his trailer home where he must protect her from the cartel who are setting out to kill her.Perhaps the film is more of a drama with violent action scenes than a straightforward action flick.
In terms of the narrative, the plot moves at fairly an equitable pace and packs an emotional punch that can felt from the opening five minutes to the jarring final stretch.Blood Father marks a triumphant on screen return for Mel Gibson in arguably the most visceral role he endured in recent years.
This is where Taken (2008) meets something like Sicario (2015) or Man on fire (2004), and explodes Mel Gibson's glorious savageness at the moment of becoming the titular hero for delivering an entertaining Sunday night action thriller.The plot sure isn't nothing new, but the story is engaging and filled with old classic action, sort of like a Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) style.
Blood Father is a wonderfully entertaining journey through the relationship of a father and his daughter, packed with laughs and a whole lot of action.It's one of those films that leaves you thinking would i do that if i was in a similar situation?The character of John Link is an amalgamation of Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon) and Thomas Craven (Edge of Darkness)For any Mel Gibson or action movie fan it's a must see.
In my opinion it's up there with Mad Max.Overall i could have easily watched another 30-45 minutes of this film, easily the best action movie for a couple of years.I only hope Mel continues to grace us with his presence in more films to come..
I this with expectations and down with Blood Father, even though one of my favorite actors as protagonists, I expected to see a movie like the Taken, starring Liam Neeson, the more this film is very different, but have similarities, such as has father's relationship with his daughter, most in the end are very different films, the cast is good, since the acting is only reasonable, making clear the performance of Mel Gibson, who carries the film alone, he's great, he helps a lot the movie is not boring, perhaps without Mel Gibson, the film would not be the same, Erin Moriarty leaves a little to be desired, I found it kind expressionless, more chemistry Gibson with Moriarty works, the cast has yet, Diego Luna, Michael Parks, William H.
Macy, Dale Dickley and etc, the action scenes are good, the script is problematic, some dialogues without needs, and the film is a little short, I believe this damaged the script and development of some characters, only with Mel Gibson, which you create a little affection in the film, the film's enemies, not you even there, they are not threatening pro viewer, this was a problem of the script, I was missing more scenes like that, the soundtrack is good, and the action scenes are good too, Blood Father is a good movie, surprises me a lot, and Mel Gibson is the best of the film.
Mel Gibson confirms the fact that he's in full shape, taking advantage of his maturity in order to add gravity to his character, while Erin Moriarty also makes a good work as his daughter.
'Blood Father' is relentless Mel Gibson entertainment & that's exactly why it works so hugely!'Blood Father' Synopsis: An ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 17-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her.'Blood Father' is fast-paced fun, that culminates cleverly in 88-minutes.
'BLOOD FATHER': Four Stars (Out of Five)A new action-thriller starring Mel Gibson; as an ex-con that reunites with his estranged daughter, who he must protect from drug dealers out for revenge.
Lydia (Erin Moriarty) although estranged from her ex-con father John Link (Mel Gibson) and is hunted by the drug cartel after she shot her boyfriend Jonah (Diego Luna), she contacts her father for help.
Yes, of course, there is a twist and this extends the story.We wished the movie would never end because we liked the relationship of this father and daughter learning about each other and telling of all the mistakes each has made over the years.
Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty play off this amazing dynamics of father-daughter duo that's going to make Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace's bond in the Taken series look a bit dull.
On the run from the gangsters, she seeks help from her estranged ex-con father John Link (Mel Gibson).It's one of those hard crime thrillers where it's important to point the camera at Erin Moriarty's butt.
And sure thing it was good.I tough there would be a bit more action in it, but the characters and story is actually pretty strong to keep you interest in the movie.
Mel Gibson rules...The man is a damn fine actor and when he's given a script perfect for him it's just a magical result.Going into the film I thought I was going to see another clichéd action flick but I was pleasantly surprised.The characters have time to breathe and develop and the casting is impeccable.
It's very refreshing to see a well-written bad ass in this age of wussy heroes.It reminded me of the best of Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it's Mel Gibson, so it's even better.Action scenes are really well choreographed and there are lots of comedic moments sprinkled throughout.Throw out your preconceived notions of this film...it's a pleasant surprise.Also William H.
The Lethal Weapon part in this movie has Gibson's character pull out crazy stunts and do crazy things, putting his life in danger.Not dripping down with much of a cast, the movie makes the best of the cast it has, and Gibson's weird beard and weird view of the world were an awesome side attraction when he and his daughter were not trying to get out of the way of flying bullets to get to safety.The movie plot isn't solid, but the directing by Jean-Francois Richet (who was the man behind the camera in the action thriller Assault of Precinct 13 (2005)) was well done and captured my interest as the movie glides gently, to a climatic end.The movie starts with a girl, Lydia buying bullets.
Like Mel Gibson's character's daughter.This "16 year old" who is really probably close to 23 is so fu%*ing stupid she makes my girlfriend look smart, and trust me she isn't.
I hadn't ever realised it until I was watching 'Blood Father' just now, but Mel Gibson has never made, nor starred in, a bad film.
Mel Gibson is good, the movie not so much.
In Blood Father we have Mel Gibson starring on the leading role in what is considered as an action film and his return to form.
It tries to be something that is not and it fails in almost every level, despite a very good performance by Mel Gibson, Blood Father is a total waste of time and money..
Gibson has a lot of dialogue about how he ruined his life and all the regrets he has that could be taken as a "real life on film" apology for his actions (for which there really is no apology).Blood Father's best character, and I wish there was more of him, is Gibson's sponsor: a fellow trailer park dead-end played by William H.
It was Mel Gibson and his chemistry with Erin that makes this film "good".I recommend this movie.
Its good to see Mel Gibson back on top form, with his intense emotion and brutal action scenes but after such a big build up throughout the film, the showdown at the end really let the movie down.
He really did push Gibson, in terms of performance and emotion in this film, and he portrayed the relationship between father and daughter extremely well but I don't know why the script writers had to end the movie that way.
The plot.An ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 17-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her.This is a really good movie except for one thing -- the lead actress, Erin Moriarty.