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Jolt
Another richly entertaining entry from the "Put your brain in check and enjoy" school of filmmaking, 2021's Jolt is a deft action thriller that features a story that doesn't bear too close scrutiny, but does feature an eye opening performance from the leading lady.
Kate Beckinsale gets the role of her career playing Lindy, a woman who suffers from a condition that manifests itself in wild fits of violence that she has absolutely no control of. She has suffered from this condition since a child and has spent her life as convict, mental patient, and lab rat until a psychiatrist develops equipment that control her condition up to a point. The shrink tells Lindy that true love is the only possible cure for her condition. She meets a man named Justin on a blind date and thinks she's in love, but right before their third date, Justin is found brutally murdered.
Scott Wascha's debut as a screenwriter shows a lot of promise as he has constructed a completely implausible story that done with just enough tongue in cheek sensibility that the viewer is able to accept a lot of what's going on here. The moments where we see Lindy imagine her attacks before they actually happen were a little obvious. We shouldn't have been able to tell whether or not what we were watching was really happening. Loved when she messed up that waitress and the scene in the maternity ward had me holding my breath. And just when we think we've been taken on just enough of an unbelievable ride, we get a delicious twist in the final act that doesn't completely explain everything, but sure makes it more acceptable.
Director Tanya Wexler keeps this blend of The Terminator, Gunpowder Milkshake, and Promising Young Woman moving at a such a lightning pace that we can't help but get completely caught up. There are some impressive production values on display here, with shout-outs to art direction, editing, and sound. Kate Beckinsale blows her total screen persona out of the water here with a fire and ice performance unlike anything I've seen from her that allows her to employ her natural British accent. Solid support is provided by the always watchable Stanley Tucci as Lindy's shrink and Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox as cops on opposite sides of Lindy's innocence. It's not rooted in any kind of realism, but it's a lot of fun.
Another richly entertaining entry from the "Put your brain in check and enjoy" school of filmmaking, 2021's Jolt is a deft action thriller that features a story that doesn't bear too close scrutiny, but does feature an eye opening performance from the leading lady.
Kate Beckinsale gets the role of her career playing Lindy, a woman who suffers from a condition that manifests itself in wild fits of violence that she has absolutely no control of. She has suffered from this condition since a child and has spent her life as convict, mental patient, and lab rat until a psychiatrist develops equipment that control her condition up to a point. The shrink tells Lindy that true love is the only possible cure for her condition. She meets a man named Justin on a blind date and thinks she's in love, but right before their third date, Justin is found brutally murdered.
Scott Wascha's debut as a screenwriter shows a lot of promise as he has constructed a completely implausible story that done with just enough tongue in cheek sensibility that the viewer is able to accept a lot of what's going on here. The moments where we see Lindy imagine her attacks before they actually happen were a little obvious. We shouldn't have been able to tell whether or not what we were watching was really happening. Loved when she messed up that waitress and the scene in the maternity ward had me holding my breath. And just when we think we've been taken on just enough of an unbelievable ride, we get a delicious twist in the final act that doesn't completely explain everything, but sure makes it more acceptable.
Director Tanya Wexler keeps this blend of The Terminator, Gunpowder Milkshake, and Promising Young Woman moving at a such a lightning pace that we can't help but get completely caught up. There are some impressive production values on display here, with shout-outs to art direction, editing, and sound. Kate Beckinsale blows her total screen persona out of the water here with a fire and ice performance unlike anything I've seen from her that allows her to employ her natural British accent. Solid support is provided by the always watchable Stanley Tucci as Lindy's shrink and Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox as cops on opposite sides of Lindy's innocence. It's not rooted in any kind of realism, but it's a lot of fun.