Tanya Wexler is a director who is mostly known “Hysteria,” her 2011 feature. I recognize her by the movie she made last year, “Buffaloed,” which had a good central performance by Zoey Deutch and its premise was quite witty and enjoyable; it left me interested in what Wexler had to offer next. Now, she teams up with Amazon to deliver the Kate Beckinsale-led movie, “Jolt.” Unfortunately, the flick is a letdown; it lacks in every aspect possible, most especially its appalling script, and deciding for yourself what was the film trying to be.
Lindy (Beckinsale) is a sardonically funny woman who was an electrifying “secret:” she suffers from a rare mental health disorder called an Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Because of that condition, she experiences seething murderous impulses. The only way to stop these impulses is a shock she must cause with an electrode device. After years of trying to find love and some intimate connection, she finally meets a man. They go on a couple of dates, only for her to find out the next day that he has been murdered. Lindy now embarks on a retribution-seeking mission to find the killer of her lover; all the while, the police chase her, as they accuse her of being the prime suspect.
“Jolt” starts with a 5-minute explanation of what is “wrong” with the lead character, her condition, and the reason why she uses a sort of jolt as a reboot system to control her angst. The explanation itself is rushed; it doesn’t go into deeper details, because that is the reason for a story arc. What is the problem? The narrative and script are horrible. From a lobster and cockroach parable to jokes like “Did your mouth just fart?,” you start to lose patience with the film quickly. You are constantly questioning the film; this is a clear indication that an action film is not doing what its job well. And we are not going to talk about the headache-inducing obvious plot twist.
By the looks of it (script aside), “Jolt” feels like a neon version of “Crank: High Voltage” (2009). Here, instead of having Jason Statham operating his battery heart, we have Kate Beckinsale controlling her rage via shocks while she kicks ass and breaks faces. We get that in this film to an extent but in a non-entertaining or engaging manner. The “action” set-pieces are chaotic, filmed with a sense of pure rush for some reason; and even with those scenes going 1000-miles per hour, the film still manages to drag. It takes too long for it to go on. The film carries on for more than 30 minutes without excitement; and when something exciting does happen, it is a dull car chase sequence alongside “Tokyo Drift”-esque techno music and bad visual effects.
Kate Beckinsale is mostly known for her badass role as Selene in the “Underworld” franchise and “Van Helsing” (2004), so we already know she can bring some edge and wit that an action movie lead needs. However, the film writes her character so poorly that we lack a reason to care for her. The film doesn’t explore her character in any means. We know her condition fills her with angst, which is why she resolves all her conversations with a threat. It is entertaining seeing Beckinsale have fun with the role, but it gets tiresome seeing her act in that way for the film’s entirety.
At first glance, you could see how this had the potential to be fun. But after seeing the film in its entirety, it is a letdown. Not only is it boring, but it is not even funny nor thrilling. It doesn’t even know what it is. It is a disarray of all genres imaginable; action, thriller, romance, adventure, and comedy all blended up in a severely aching mishmash with no logic whatsoever. It even has the desire to keep going as by the end it hints at a sequel; and to be frank, I hope we don’t get to see it. “Jolt” could have been an electrifying fun movie; however, it aches and drags for so long that it just isn’t enjoyable.
