If you like to see Kate Beckinsale kick ass, and feel somewhat ambivalent about it, then spend an afternoon or evening with Jolt.
A hyped-up Beckinsale’s Lindy takes anger management to a whole new level with enabler Dr. Munchin (Stanley Tucci).
This is a completely stupid film with no redeeming qualities. Everybody got a paycheck though, including A-listers Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Laverne Cox, Bobby Cannavale, and David Bradley. But they got paid to have fun and the comes across in every scene. Beckinsale charges up her vampire huntress persona and then lets her inner crazy unhinge everything.
Her life isn’t all that great, but she’s trying. What she doesn’t know…
Well, she doesn’t know a lot of things, so shitty moments and manipulation prove commonplace. And she needs a lot of help to hold it together.
Lindy wears a special vest and must push a button when she starts to feel angry—the “take it down a notch button.” But like the Incredible Hulk, Lindy sometimes finds either the situation or the technology wanting. Her anti-anger corset does the job, until, well, it doesn’t. Finding a date murdered, especially after just getting yourself under control, seems like a lot. Kind of a trigger.
So she kills some people.
It isn’t just the action though, the dialog is often fun, with banter between Beckinsale and Tucci careening around the audio like verbal ping pong balls, as do the conversations between Detective Vicars (Cannavale) and Detective Nevin (Cox) who are as clueless about how to deal with Lindy as she is about how to deal with herself.
In the end, not dealing with her anger is the right answer. Just let it out girl and embrace the carnage.
Tanya Wexler delivers a trashy, fun, often comedic action movie that gives voice to anyone faced with the need for anger suppression. And these days that may be most of us, which is why Jolt found an audience on Amazon Prime. Though actual people should be warned not to try Jolt’s therapeutic attempts at home.
Jolt doesn’t end with reconciliation. The film rather ends with a clear opening for a sequel, an invitation to weaponize Lindy’s most dominant personality trait. Perhaps soon we will get another jolt of Jolt.
I wonder what Beckinsale’s cats thought of mommy going crazy. Must have been a good time to hide under the couch.
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A fun action-comedy that lets a human anger management patient Beckinsale unleash her inner angst.
- Free with prime