Decent acting fails to rescue violent, banal, Blood Out

Lots of violence and the acting's OK, but Blood Out's plotline is too weak to be salvaged.

Director: Jason Hewitt
Starring: Vinnie Jones, Curtis Jackson, Luke Goss
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When Vinnie Jones and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson appear in a film together, it's probably a fair guess that it's not going to be a musical. Blood Out, as the name might suggest, is more to do with the violent side of life.

The former 1980s pop heartthrob Luke Goss plays Michael, a small-town sheriff whose brother is murdered by Zed (Jones) when he tries to leave a rather vicious gang. After being stonewalled by the local detectives, led by Hardwick (50 Cent), he decides to go vigilante and become a gang member himself in order to seek revenge, a transformation he undertakes by wearing a selection of vests and covering his body in rather elaborate (and badly scrawled) tattoos.

Several bloody street fights later and he's in, and our hard-as-nails Michael swiftly rises up the ranks to become the gang's golden boy. Bizarrely, at this point Val Kilmer becomes involved in proceedings as a massive-faced crimelord whose empire Zed is eyeing up. More brawls, more shootings and even - would you believe it? - a girl with a penchant for tight leathers, and you've pretty much got all the plot you need.

Unexpectedly, the acting is rather good. Goss does the stubbly cop-with-an-axe-to-grind routine well, and 50 Cent (Dh1.8) doesn't seem to mind having his head smashed into a car window (one of the few scenes he's in). But the story is just too utterly banal and pointless - especially when Michael has to fight Kilmer's muscle-bound general in order to "unite" the town's rival gangs - to make it worthwhile.