Jolt – Review: Kinetic Ride through Anger Management. By Jan Kalina
Lindy has anger issues. Not the kind which you can solve through anger management or subdue by some pills. No. Lindy’s anger issues are more neurological ( in the film explained as her cortisol levels are off the chart). In short, Lindy has a short fuse. A very short fuse. She gets very angry quickly and she has had this problem ever since she was a kid. Now over the years spent in a mental institution, a shady therapist has a solution that works. Through a device strapped to her body she gives herself electric shocks to her body.
High voltage released at the push of a button. Nothing seems to keep her in check until she meets Justin. Justing, a boring ordinary accountant is just the calming presence Lindy needs. And then around the time the third date comes….. Justin is taken away. The only good thing in her life. The only person who made her feel normal. For a second she didn’t feel the need to snap some necks. But now she has to find who did this and snap some necks, and kick some other (mostly male) body parts we shall leave to the reader’s imaginations. And maybe work through some anger issues. Maybe.
Now it would be too easy to dismiss this film as a female John Wick but that would not do it justice. (But then again John Wick is just another revenge flick plot wise but enhances the experience elsewhere) Because is John Wick this insanely funny? Jolt is filled with off-kilter humor and sardonic wit that keeps the film moving at a crazy pace. One of the highlights is the scene at the hospital where newborn babies are used as distractions. It’s a set piece straight out of the Naked Gun series.
To explain how the film, the action scenes and the humor work perhaps the best example would be to ask a what if question: what if Atomic Blonde was an action comedy with a a bit of cartoon logic sprinkled here and there?
Perhaps the only gripe with the film is the unnecessary twist towards the end which then renders almost every single character in the film as a villain. And the last scene of the film seems just odd. At first I thought it is setting up a sequel but it is too self contained so it just spells doom and gloom for the character. Which then again renders any progress Lindy has as useless, if she will become a government puppet. The film and the story deserves to be more self-contained. Maybe that final scene should have been a post-credits scene.
But despite some flaws towards the end Jolt is another great film from Tanya Wexler, that is entertaining all the way through. It is filled with so much energy and dark humor that you won’t regret the time you spent with it. I hope to see Kate Beckinsale in more action films after Jolt.
