‘Blood Father’ is an Action/Thriller full of suspense, drama, action and proves that Mel Gibson has definitely still got it. This is by no means an incredible, groundbreaking film but it is definitely one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the year. Expecting just a by the numbers cliche action film, this movie really surprised me with great action, fantastic thrills, good performances and a very fast paced entertaining ‘on-the-run’ style plot. As good as the action and suspense in this film was, without Mel Gibson bringing the charisma, the wit, and channeling his inner ‘Mad Max’ this would not have been nearly as enjoyable as it was. The fast paced plot keeps things moving at a very steady pace where you are never at one point bored and are along for this thrill ride.

The best part of this film if you haven’t gathered already is Mel Gibson himself. Putting aside his public antics, this guy proves once again just how good of an actor he still is. He is a fucking badass in this film, and you go into every action sequence rooting for his character who is so intense and so brutal it’s just so fun to watch. He’s just gotta keep that beard from now on, turns him into an instant badass. And he isn’t just a straight up bad guy, he has morals, he wants to do right by his daughter and himself and seeing that play out over the course of the film was another reason why his character was so perfectly crafted. And it isn’t just the action that Mel excels at, he still has some very good and effective comedic timing to where he somehow manages to lighten the mood and make you genuinely laugh in the middle of an intense gun fight. Everything about his character really worked and he was the most important factor in this film being good.

The other performances in the film from William H Macy and Erin Moriarty also worked really well and were very good additions to the film. Macy worked very well on his own and put in a good supporting performance with limited screen time. Erin Moriarty was also a very important component in the film and i feel like she managed to hold her own well against Gibson whilst also having the effectiveness of her performance lifted. She did start off quite rocky and i feel like she was slightly overacting a few times early on, but as the film went on and she was able to interact with Gibson more her character grew on me and in the end was not a burden on the film. There is a light emotional element to this film that plays a part throughout and was actually quite effective…. So much about this film worked when i thought it didn’t have much of a chance.

The bad guys in the film are typical criminals and there really isn’t much to them, Diego Luna does what he can to make his character interesting but you won’t remember this film for its bad guys. So in the end, this is a very fun and thrilling action film with a great outing by Mad Max himself and worth checking out if it slightly interests you or if you are a big Mel Gibson fan.

7.5/10