Overrated

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

When it started I was wondering a bit why it was rated so low, because I thought it was watchable at least.But when the second half started that became painfully obvious.The movie starts out as sort of a illegal street-fighting movie but with armored vest shooting at each other instead of boxing and kicking each other.And it builds itself up to make you think that it's gonna get more and more intense as it goes on, so the second half is so anticlimactic it's not even funny.It turns into some wannabe philosophical wonderings drama movie instead, and it has one of the most abrupt endings I've seen in a long while which literally made me ask 'seriously?' out loud to the TV-screen.And in the end I have no idea what the movie was trying to say or why it was even made in the first place.So yeah definitely not recommended, to the Mickey Rourke fans I'd like to point out that he doesn't show up until the last 9 minutes.

Pistol duel in wild west is always enigmatically and brutally interesting, "Blunt Force Trauma" transitions that rugged charm to the modern era with Kevlar and Colt. This is one simple theme used in pretty exciting way, also delivered by adequately dependable leads, yet the pacing isn't as rapid as the flying bullets.John (Ryan Kwanten) is a participant in underground pistol duel, he rises up in ranks fast in order to challenge the legendary Zorringer (Mickey Rourke). Along the way he meets up with Colt (Freida Pinto), a woman trying to avenge his brother against a man allegedly cheated in the duel. The set-up is good, the unique game-like quality gives an roguish appeal to the character and South American setting.Ryan Kwanten is a capable lead, he looks psychically impressive and certainly brings the rowdy cowboy persona. Freida Pinto as his counterpart is a good match, they have a nice chemistry and quite believable as two person taking a hazardous trip together. The romance angle works out fine as well, not undermining the serious tone or become too cheesy. The rest of the cast, sadly, are not given too much screen time, including Mickey Rourke, and it makes the scale seems too small.Dialogues can be rough around the edges, it tries to be poetically engaging but only succeeds half of the time. Some of the lines are too awkwardly put together, not to mention the momentum halts in the midway point. Its gunslinging parts are intriguing, mostly because it's simple and effective in grabbing people's attention. This could've been done more stylish by introducing outlandish characters, but the movie feels a bit restrained to capitalize on its premise.The act of two persons in duel is primal and basic, a nifty way to engage viewers and the leads cater to such effort, however the pace is unable to reach the full velocity.

If you get bruises, it means you felt something. For the longest times in this, it feels like ... nothing. While our main character struggles to explain what can not be explained, we get a second story line with the gorgeous and talented Freida Pinto. The ensuing love story is not the most believable you'll have seen. But it serves its purpose (killing time and establishing another character besides our main man).Unfortunately not many things work in its favor here. The ending (which seems blurred, but I guess if you look closely enough you might be able to see something and if you still care have an opinion about it) will split the opinion many viewers will have. Rightfully so I think. Watch it if you don't expect much ...

A slice of the lives of two vagabond gunfighters, the stories that brought them together, and their inevitable spiral as each chooses the degree of violence that must rule their existence. The haunting soundtrack (mostly Kid Dakota, veteran of minimalist-core label Chairkickers Union) punctuated a perfect Foley which provides the crunch of beer cans and a rattling rolling lead pipe in place of the jangling cowboy spurs and whistling wind of earlier gunfighter films. When the story slowed, it never felt stilted or awkward, and the ride was totally worth every minute of building tension. Yes, there is a parallel to Fight Club, but Blunt Force Trauma has none of that film's self-consciousness or absurdity and it's hard to believe that there isn't an underground dueling circuit after watching.