Blood Work (Widescreen Edition)

Blood Work (Widescreen Edition)

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DVD Reviews of Blood Work (Widescreen Edition)

DVD Review: solid Eastwood vehicle
Summary: 3 Stars

Well, it is nine years since that film, and Eastwood himself is now 72 years old. In his new film "Blood Work," Eastwood's Terry McCaleb is about as close to keeling over dead as any action movie protagonist we have ever come across. Not only is he old, he suffers a heart attack while chasing a serial killer in the opening scene and, two years later, has just received a brand new ticker, courtesy of a young female donor who was murdered in a convenience store robbery. Although McCaleb's doctor keeps telling him that this postoperative period is a crucial one requiring complete rest and relaxation, this retired FBI murder investigator decides to disobey doctor's orders when the heart donor's beautiful sister arrives on his houseboat begging him to help her find the young woman's killer. The plot of "Blood Work," based on the novel by Michael Connelly (and adapted by Brian Helgeland), is not the real selling point of the film - although it emerges as a better-than-average police procedural with some interesting plot twists, unusual locations and a nice maze-like structure to keep the audience guessing (although I must admit that I figured out who the killer was rather early on in the story). The film also does a nice job closing in on itself, making McCaleb himself an integral part of the story's final unraveling (though it does steal a bit from "In the Line of Fire" in this one area). Yet the most impressive aspect of the film is not its story but its central character and, most particularly, the performance of Eastwood himself. Perhaps because he also directed the picture, this legendary star really seems to inhabit the character he is playing here. With his craggy - but still remarkably handsome - face, Eastwood looks like a man who has weathered any number of life's greatest trials and emerged from them a better, more compassionate human being. Having devoted his career to trying to get into the minds of the sickest types of criminals imaginable (serial killers), he is still able to be touched by the desperate pleas of a grieving sister, the sad plight of a young boy facing the grim prospect of an early death brought on by a weak heart, and the innate goodness and innocence of a young son who has lost the dearest thing in his life to a madman's bullet. McCaleb knows the difference between good and evil, and he also knows that second chances don't always come around in life so he better make the most of the one he's been handed.

There are superb supporting performances by Jeff Daniels as the neighbor excited at the prospect of sharing in some of the glamour of McCaleb's investigative work, Anjelica Huston as the cardiologist maddened by her patient's refusal to take it easy in his crucial period of convalescence, Wanda De Jesus as the sister who sets the plot in motion with her request that McCaleb help her in her search for justice, Paul Rodriquez as the eternally irate detective who thinks McCaleb is overstepping his jurisdiction and Tina Lifford as a fellow investigator who has enough faith to trust the old pro even when he seems to be going beyond the bounds of totally by-the-book rules and procedures.

It's unfortunate that Eastwood does compromise a bit by having his character end up in a romantic relationship with the much younger De Jesus rather than with a woman closer to his own age. I guess even this superstar couldn't stand THAT much of an affront to his male ego. Oh well, give credit to the man for at least having the gumption to confront some of the realities of his own aging. We are happy enough with what we have. Let's not expect miracles.

Description of Blood Work (Widescreen Edition)