STACK #188 June 2020

FEATURE FILM

At the heart of the movie is the unconventional love story that develops between Bloodshot and KT (Eiza Gonzalez), who has been similarly enhanced with a mechanical respiratory device after suffering an injury during service. “It’s not a love story per se, it’s an unusual dynamic,” Gonzalez explains. “There’s a scene in the water that’s like a metaphor for what it is – there’s always like glass between them and they can’t fully be themselves.

• Bloodshot is out on June 3

It’s tragic in a very Romeo and Juliet kind of way. There are circumstances in the movie

Eiza Gonzalez as KT

that cause them to be not completely there for each other. What’s lovely about the relationship is that it’s platonic in a way that comes through the humanity of it.” Then there is ex-Navy SEAL Jimmy Dalton, played by Outlander star Sam Heughan – a long way from

Ultimately, however, it was Diesel’s young son that convinced him to take the part. “I’m a firm believer that some of the best wisdom comes from the innocence of children,” the actor says. “The first meeting that I had for this project, I brought my son along. And at the end of the meeting he said, ‘Daddy, you are Bloodshot,’ and that was enough for me to

He’s a badass soldier with unique abilities

the Scottish highlands. Having lost his legs in an IED explosion, Dalton has been fitted with bionic limbs and an exoskeleton with a second pair of metallic arms that gives him a formidable advantage. “I jumped at the chance to do something different and this character is so much fun to play,” says the actor who is also a sometime marathon runner. “The action and physical side was definitely a draw.” Heughan observes that although Bloodshot pushes technology to the extreme, it’s not so far removed from the kind of technology that is restoring abilities to today’s wounded soldiers. “Dalton is obviously a product of this technology, but I don’t believe it’s that futuristic,” he says. “It’s very much based in reality and the now.” Wilson concurs that Bloodshot represents concepts that may not be too far away from reality – for better or worse. “Obviously we’re already seeing people with advanced prosthetics. Right now, those prosthetics are still inferior to human limbs – but the day will come when they’re superior. You’ll be able to buy strength. What’s more terrifying is when you can buy intelligence, because we’ll be defined by what we can afford. There’s a term for it – ‘transhumanism’ – where we’re able to alter ourselves beyond the physical and neurological limits we’re born with. And those are some of the questions [raised in] the film.”

move the family to South Africa and commit to it wholeheartedly. “That’s the second time he’s done that,” he adds with a smile. “When Marvel sent over a whole bunch of superheroes, my son was the only one in the room who pointed to the tree. And I looked at him and said, ‘Really?’ And that turned out to be a delightful choice.”

Sam Heughan as Dalton

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