Blackout

The only reason I can think this got made is because Nick Nolte has bills to pay. A few decent fight scenes and short running time but still silly. Reminds me of Tim Olymphant doing a bad version of an action star in Hitman. To think Nick Nolte, one of better actors in the past century is in this makes me wonder if he knew what he was doing.

This is nothing more than a B movie action rip off of Jason Bourne. There's a reason no one pays for this in cinemas. If it's bad enough, Netflix will pick it up for streaming. Giving this garbage even 2 stars would be kind but that's because I grew up watching Nick Nolte movies. Back when he used to do good movies.

This type of movie is why Netflix is in trouble. They fund this garbage, throwing money at a terrible script and awakening Nick Nolte from his annual hibernation. Poor old Nick is slurring and carrying on, completely unconvincing in a Mickey Rourke style cameo of ludicrous casting. Omar puts in a solid bad guy act but his pony tail wig distracts. Abbey looks mildly embarrassed and Josh Duhamel looks like his misses the big budget Transformers days when the catering cost more than the budget for this entire film. Some laugh out loud bad moments, so bad I was looking for Damien Chapa's name as the director.

Let's put our cards on the table. The Bourne story (killer with memory loss) is one of my all-time faves. I actually read the "hardcover" when it first came out (if you are not familiar with that term, Google it!). The movie trilogy is top-ranked on my list of the greatest films of all time (see below). So, off the top, I really really WANTED to love this film. But, alas, Fate had other plans. As I have explained in my other reviews, one of the hallmarks of a low-budget indie is the gratuitous use of loud music to "fill in the awkward pauses" between the weak writing and bad acting. BLACKOUT has plenty of gratuitous loud music. Another giveaway is the use of recycled actors. Plenty of those here also. But what about the ACTION scenes, you ask? The good news is there are plenty of those too. And it looks like that is where most of the budget ended up. In fact, at the 35 minute mark, protagonist Duhamel escapes a killer using the signature judo move from the grand finale of REDBELT 2008 (also on my list of the best all-time films). "A" for effort. "B-" for result. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

For a paycheck, to fill a content void, just cuz?

I thought this movie was a joke at first, like tongue-in-cheek comedy or perhaps a twist where he's still in a coma because the shootout scenes are so outlandish that they cant possibly be taken seriously. But.... alas.... its for real.

I cannot think of a single redeeming thing to say. Except maybe credit for the single location? I guess? But its painfully apparent that nobody cared. The writer? Didn't care. The actors? Didnt care. The director? Didn't care. The Editor? Didn't care. Nobody wanted this to be made, but it was because Netflix has a content quota and we're all to blame.

Blackout, I went into this blind, not in the drunk sense, I didn't read anything about it or any of the reviews. If it wasn't for Josh Duhamel this would have been below average. Having said that, I do believe that Josh Duhamel went into this blind too, maybe not the same blind state as myself. Abbie Cornish spent too much time looking emotionless. Omar Chaparro (Eddie) is obviously a fan of Jordi Mollà's portrayal of Hector Juan Carlos 'Johnny' Tapia in Bad Boys 2. Definitely a B grade movie with a budget to match. Some of the action scenes were done well. The director should have taken some direction from a more experienced director, the writer, a little lazy and relies too much stock standard cliche's. That aside, it is watchable and I would recommend it.