In The Blood
Starring: Gina Carano, Cam Gigandet, Danny Trejo |
Director: John Stockwell
Gina Carano stars as Ava a former junkie who was trained in combat as a child by her father. Now on her honeymoon in a Caribbean island a freak zipline accident leads to the disappearance of her husband played by Cam Gigandet. When the locals provide no help Ava utilizes all the skills she learned in her youth (before she was a drug addict) to find her husband and stop the locals she holds responsible for taking her husband.
After having her voice dubbed in for her in Haywire and a bit part in Fast 6 Gina Carano is back in another action packed starring role looking to solidify herself as a legitimate actor. She clearly has taken the task seriously displaying three emotions throughout the entirety of the film. There is the happy Ava which would be Carano smiling and squinting, There is the upset Ava which is Carano blankly staring ahead while holding both hands against the side of her head, Finally there is ‘mean face’ the scowl she employs while she beats up every street tough she comes across.
Paired up against a smaller male lead the entirety of her performance is awkward. Gone is the sexy girl once known as the Face of female MMA in its place is a nice girl who is a bit on the larger side. Sorry Gina you are just not convincing as an actress.
Somehow some fighting techniques and don’t trust anyone attitude is supposed to have turned Ava into a fighting machine and expert marksman. The body count adds up as she searches for her effeminate husband. We get it Carano can turn her hips over and throw a mean muay thai kick that doesn’t make her a believable action hero who can lay waste to an armed police force and street gang.
In the blood is supposed to solidify Carano as an up and coming action star. The problem is that this version of Carano is much plumper than in her fighting days and she lacks both the acting chops and charisma to make this enjoyable. She is the female Brian Bosworth who cashed in on her small amount of former sports glory to make a really bad B movie.
Grade – 54