Jolt
Director: Tanya Wexler
Year: 2021
Rating: 6.0
This is a nutty
box of crackerjacks. It is an absurd black comedy disguised as an action
film. It is a ludicrous premise until you realize you are not supposed to
take any of the violence seriously. Over the last few years there have been
a number of films made for cable with strong female action characters, so
I must not be the only person who enjoys them. Keep them coming. This is
not one of the best but it was silly fun with a large dollop of extreme violence.
Much of it made me giggle. The violence is committed by Kate Beckinsale who
at almost fifty years old has managed to become an action hero. Maggie Q
is in her mid-40s. Charlize Theron is nipping on fifty as well. Michelle
Yeoh hit the 60-year mark. Veronica Ngo in her forties. Kind of an interesting
trend. After fighting all those vampires, Beckinsale does fine cracking heads
and crunching testicles of mere men in this one.
The plot is as cute and as silly as a gaggle
of geese walking through the revolving doors at Macy's. Lindy (Beckinsale)
has had an anger issue since she was a child. Things annoy her. People really
annoy her. Pretty much everything annoys her. Unlike most of us who ignore
it or just let out a clucking sound to signal their annoyance, Lindy acts
on it by stopping the annoyance. By beating the hell out of someone. Someone
fidgeting too much or who takes the biggest slice of cake. The doctors try
and fix her up but this irritates her as well and they end up headfirst in
the garbage can. Finally, her psychiatrist (Stanley Tucci) comes up
with a solution. She wears an electric gadget on her body and whenever she
feels like killing someone, she gives herself a jolt of electricity that
calms her down. Most of the time. Not so much with the sarcastic waitress.
She even begins trying to date on the advice
of her psychiatrist and when she meets Justin (Jai Courtney) much to her
surprise she realizes she likes him and his sense of humor - even after using
the waitress as a battering ram. When he doesn't call her for the second
date, she begins to get edgy. But he has a good excuse. Two bullets to his
head. Now this really pisses her off. I finally find a guy who can put up
with me, is great in bed and someone kills him. The two cops on the case
(Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox - who is very funny) have no leads. Lindy
decides to look into it on her own. People begin to get hurt. Susan Sarandon
shows up in a cameo at the end that seems to indicate a sequel but nothing
as of yet.
