TL;DR – I had so much fun with this film, but it is very much a film made for me, and that mood will not be for everyone.   

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this movie.

Jolt Review –

There are some films out there that are created on a particular wavelength. These movies have facets that might engage one person but deeply frustrate others. On some level, all films do this, but some hit harder than others. Today we look at a movie that is very much my groove, but oh boy, could this rub others the wrong way.  

So to set the scene, when Lindy (Sofia Weldon) was a child, she tended to explode with violence on a moment’s trigger. Even when she was diagnosed with an intermittent explosive disorder, it did not lead to her getting the help she needed. Now an adult, Lindy (Kate Beckinsale) has it mostly under control, but this needs almost constant electro-shock therapy. Trying to find some normalcy, she tries to go on a date with Justin (Jai Courtney), but things go awry when the waitress (Savvy Clement) is just the worst and when Justin ends up in a dumpster with two bullets in his chest.  

Before we dive into the film, I need to clarify one thing. This film depicts someone with intermittent explosive disorder, a real medical diagnosis. I do not have enough knowledge to tell you if this is an accurate depiction of the diagnosis or if someone just Googled it and thought it sounded suitable for their film. While I suspect it is likely closer to the latter than the first, I don’t know for sure, so I will leave that for others to talk more about its representation on this matter.

One of the things that I loved about this film was the quality banter that existed in almost every part of this film. We first see it between Lindy and her psychiatrist Dr Ivan Munchin (Stanley Tucci), with the threat of one of them possibly killing the other in a moment. It is then elevated when we are introduced to Detective Vicars (Bobby Cannavale) and Detective Nevin (Laverne Cox). There is a scene when Lindy is on the phone with Vicars whilst Nevin is trying to take Lindy down, who then realises that Lindy is on the phone with her partner. Then we get an extended car chase whilst everyone is still delightfully sniping at each other.

Another strength of the film was its action. Kate Beckinsale has a long history in the action genre with the Underworld series and others, and all that experience is on show here. I respect that the film knows exactly what sort of film it is. When there is a topless dude with a bunch of piercings, you know what the outcome will be. This is escalated by the film inserting moments of what Lindy would like to do before she calms down, giving these moments of frantic energy. The action also gets every character to their core, so they can fight a newborn maternity ward and still have it work.  

Now it is not a perfect film. It often leans into style over substance, including in the whole set-up of the film. Also, I am sure that most people will probably see the ending coming even before the film tries to franchise in the end because it is 2021, and that is what you do, apparently.

In the end, do we recommend Jolt? Well, to be clear, I had a lot of fun with this film. However, this film’s mood is very much aligned with what I like. So, while I had a lot of fun with this, it is very much not going to be for everyone, or even maybe most people. If you liked Jolt, I would also recommend to you Atomic Blonde.           

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Jolt
Directed by – Tanya Wexler
Written by – Scott Wascha
Music by – Dominic Lewis
Cinematography by – Jules O’Loughlin
Edited by – Chris Barwell, Carsten Kupanek & Michael J. Duthie
Production/Distribution Companies – Millennium Media, Busted Shark Productions, Campbell Grobman Films, Electric Films & Amazon Prime
Starring – Kate Beckinsale, Sofia Weldon, Eliya Or, Jai Courtney, Stanley Tucci, Bobby Cannavale, Laverne Cox, Constantine Gregory, Ori Pfeffer, David Bradley, Susan Sarandon, Savvy Clement, Sophie Sanderson, Steven Osborne, Tom Xander, Evan Sharp, Dorottya Bartok & Orlin Pavlov  
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: R; Germany: 16; New Zealand: na; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R