So much average

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Redundant and unnecessary.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

BLOOD is the film version of a lengthy BBC miniseries called CONVICTION, in which a pair of detective brothers struggle to cope with the demands of the job while caring for their father who's suffering from dementia. When a young girl is found brutally murdered in the local skate park, her death drives the men over the edge.Wow, this is one of the darkest movies I've seen in a while. It's almost wrist-slittingly grim, with a cast populated by the mentally ill, perverts, and psychopaths. The film was shot in the Wirral and looks dark and grim throughout, with the only colour that stands out blood red. Depressing scene follows depressing scene, until the final nihilistic climax.Despite the downbeat nature of the production, this is highly watchable thanks to the talents of a fine cast. Paul Bettany excels as the volatile lead, with Stephen Graham giving a typically assured turn as his stressed-out brother. Brian Cox still shines even in his later years as the elder struggling with memory loss. There are even roles for former comedian Adrian Edmondson and Ben Crompton, best known for his role as one of the Night's Watch in GAME OF THRONES. And I can't say out pleased I am to see Mark Strong NOT typecast as a villain.The plot is a simple one and yet there's so much incident packed into the scant running time that it ends up being very fast paced with barely room to go out of the room and make a cup of tea. I'm glad it has a short running time too; I'm not sure I would have wanted to sit through hours and hours of this grim story. A British Scandi-noir type thriller, BLOOD deserves plaudits for the work of its cast alone.

"What have you done??! What have you done ??!" After a young girl is brutally murdered it is up to a family on the police force to catch the murderer. After all the clues point to one man two brothers go out and find him and bring him in for questioning. After it turns out there isn't enough evidence for trial they push for a confession. When the interrogation goes to far the family is now forced to investigate the crime they committed. This was an interesting idea for a movie and I am usually a fan of the British crime genre so I was looking forward to seeing this. I was not disappointed at all. The movie was a little slow at times but overall it kept me interested and I really liked the character arcs and watching all of them change for better or worse. The cast and acting is great and the movie is tense and entertaining. Fans of this genre will really enjoy this, I know I did. Overall, very much worth seeing and keeps you feeling tense and your not really sure who to root for the entire movie. I give it a B.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningA young girl is found murdered in an English coastal town, and the pressure's on for detective brothers Joe (Paul Bettany) and Chrissie (Stephen Graham) to find the killer. When the prime suspect walks free, Joe and Chrissie abduct him and try to force a confession out of him, in the style of their old school, domineering father Lenny (Brian Cox) in his day, only for things to go wrong. Now, they find themselves trapped in a ticking time bomb, as the net closes in on them, with the diligent Detective Seymour (Mark Strong) putting the pieces together.Adapted from a TV series called Confession, this noticeably small scale production would have the production values to match it's source material. In spite of this, there some undeniably top rate, modern talent at work here that had the potential to really shine if their ability really matched what they were given to work with. Sadly, rather than keep you really riveted with what's going on and how it's going to turn out, Blood simply chugs along in a perfunctory manner, never having the bite or the spark to make the most of what it is. It's biggest mistake is probably killing off the mystery element, and instead of leaving you to guess whether the brothers really did it, puts you in on the act from the beginning Columbo style.As stated, this thoroughly low key piece has a top name cast to it, the kind that never abandoned artistic integrity for cheap selling out, and they still invest their all in it, with strong turns from Bettany and an explosive Graham, even if his cockney accent is over-powered (as in every other such role he's played) at times by his strong scouse brogue. Even in a supporting role, Cox still possesses a presence and intensity that allows him to shine through. Sadly, none of their superior thesping can save this hollow and undelivering piece. **

I was unlucky enough to watch this dire movie last night. Lots of horrible unlikeable people being not very nice. The story is simple enough about two brothers who are on the police force who murder and bury an innocent man. Paul Bettany plays the eldest of the brothers and spends the rest of the movie freaking out and crying, he has no charisma and just comes over as a stupid man. The usually dependable Brian Cox plays Bettany's father an ex policeman who is suffering from dementia and likes bacon sandwiches.It is because of his boasting that the two brothers become murderers but you are never sure why they did it in this case. I only watched this movie out of spite because I paid to watch it. If you have the chance, don't bother.