Even the most ardent supporters of Vin Diesel’s Bloodshot would struggle to justify naming it as an awards caliber movie, but that’s exactly the position we find ourselves in after the comic book adaptation found itself on the ten-film shortlist to secure an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Bloodshot was one of the first major casualties of the COVID-19 era, failing to even recoup the $45 million budget in theaters before doors started getting slammed shut all over the world. It was released onto VOD just a couple of weeks after debuting on the big screen, though, and the numbers would indicate that it performed pretty well.
There was talk that the first installment in the proposed Valiant Cinematic Universe might end up getting a swift reboot, but it was announced back in November that the chrome domed Fast & Furious figurehead will be returning for a sequel. Reviews weren’t particularly kind, with the movie sitting on a weak Rotten Tomatoes score of 30%, but should it make the final list of contenders, you can guarantee that a marketing push for the Academy Award nominated Bloodshot will follow shortly afterwards.
The dearth of effects-driven blockbusters last year has resulted in the Best Visual Effects category throwing up a number of surprises given the lack of what would typically be deemed the usual suspects, and it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the CGI in Bloodshot was far from top tier. The other nominees, though, are Birds of Prey, Love and Monsters, Mank, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, The One and Only Ivan, Soul, Tenet, and Welcome to Chechnya, so it can’t be completely ruled out at this stage that David S.F. Wilson’s middling actioner makes the final five.