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Apr 02, 2014 By Stephen Danay Web Exclusive

Eager to leave behind a life of violence and abuse, recovered drug addict Ava (Gina Carano) sets out on a Caribbean honeymoon with her husband, Derek (Cam Gigandet). When Derek is badly injured in a zip-lining accident and disappears en route to the hospital, Ava vows to find out what happened to him by any means necessary.

One of the most exciting arrivals in action cinema during the past decade was Gina Carano in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire. As glamorous as any A-list actress and able to believably dismantle men twice her size, the only factor working against the former MMA star was her lack of actual acting skills. While not necessarily a problem for an action star, especially in the hands of an auteur like Soderbergh, Carano’s inexperience is one of several major problems with In The Blood. Essentially a gender-swapped riff on the Taken films, the film is as by the numbers as they come. Resorting to needless shaky-cam, computer generated bullet hits and a ninety minute plot stretched to two hours, the film is a waste of everyone’s time, talented or otherwise. Even always welcome character actors Luis Guzman and Danny Trejo are given little to work with.

The film’s greatest sin is the lack of setpieces. When working with a subpar script and an actress who’s greatest asset is stunt and combat experience, the smart move would be to work in fight scenes at every opportunity. By the time In The Blood gets around to its barely choreographed, plainly shot fight sequences, you’ll be too bored to care.

Author rating: 2/10