Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 149
Fresh: 79 | Rotten: 70
Blood Work is a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing.
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 10
Blood Work is a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing.
liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 20,211
A retired detective must battle former colleagues and his own failing health in order to bring a murderer to justice in this action drama produced and directed by its star, Clint Eastwood. Terry McCaleb (Eastwood) was one of the best and most thorough detectives at the FBI's Southern California office, until a massive heart attack sidelined him from police work for good. Following a heart transplant which saved his life, McCaleb has resigned himself to living quietly on a houseboat for the rest
R, 1 hr. 51 min.
Aug 9, 2002 Wide
Dec 27, 2002
$26.1M
Warner Bros. Pictures
All Critics (151) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (83) | Rotten (71) | DVD (31)
It's mostly a pro forma police procedural spiced by a baroque twist that Eastwood doesn't really know what to do with.
It doesn't sound bad...but Bloodwork is bad, oh, lordy, yes, it is.
It can be argued, I suppose, that Blood Work was designed from the outset not so much as a whodunit as a why-and-how-dunit, and here the film becomes metaphysically ingenious.
Even as it ends in a flurry of absurd plot twists, Blood Work holds you in a vise.
It's always nice to see Clint.
The actors manage to make it all seem plausible enough.
Disappointing, predictable, and graphic.
The pivotal teaser is a numerical code that baffles experts but gets cracked in one curious gaze by a schoolboy.
Eastwood's sharpest filmmaking since the gig that won him an Oscar.
Master filmmaker Clint Eastwood continues in the classic Howard Hawks/John Ford tradition with unobtrustive direction, relaxed pacing, and strong characters and storytelling.
Typically for Eastwood, there are modest touches to savor.
The movie could have used a heart transplant of its own, for its ultimate undoing is its minuscule, phoned-in energy level.
If you like genre films, Blood Work will not disappoint.
The talent just isn't there to raise the level of this film past television drama.
It's still fun to watch [Eastwood] chase the bad guys, and he still has that indescribable aura about him.
Very silly: sometimes almost enjoyably so, often just in a tired way.
Blood Work is a lot like a well-made PB & J sandwich: familiar, fairly uneventful and boasting no real surprises - but still quite tasty and inviting all the same.
I'm sorry, the guy may be tough, or good-looking, or a respected Hollywood elder, but CLINT EASTWOOD IS NOT A VERY GOOD ACTOR. There, I said it.
Eastwood should spend the next five years gargling to get rid of the taste.
The murder mystery develops in engaging fashion, but disappointment comes when Blood Work intermittently leaves its clever roots to honor dull Hollywood conventions.
Clint still has presence, but he now looks very elderly, with stunt doubles to do fights and running and, for all I know, walking and breathing too.
Terry McCaleb: Remember how you said I was your friend, and I could tell you the truth? Well I don't need you at all. "He's a heartbeat away from catching the killer"Blood Work gets a lot of shit and it is easy to see why. This is a predictable and lazy thriller from Eastwood. The plot is interesting enough to make it
December 30, 2011
Super Reviewer
A run of the mill procedural cop/serial killer movie. The low rating is because of how low on surprises this was. Honestly, it was ridiculously easy to solve. If I'm watching a film about an FBI profiler I shouldn't be 1 hour ahead of him. I worked out the plan, the motive, and the killer within the first 45 minutes.
August 12, 2011Super Reviewer
| 35% | The Hangover Part II |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 81% | Kung Fu Panda 2 |
| 44% | Cowboys & Aliens |
| 83% | Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 88% | Lady and the Tramp |
| 69% | A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas |
| 21% | Fireflies in the Garden |
| 45% | The Rebound |
What are his 10 best movies ever?
See the all-new action-packed trailer!
Five new Marvelous pictures
Unconventional Superheroes