Bullet Points: Shrapnel
When 2023’s Shrapnel hit my radar earlier this year, I knew watching it was an inevitability. And for good reason… much like I am a sucker for a Die Hard clone, I am also a sucker for a Taken clone…
- South of the Border: Jason Patric plays Sean Beckwith, a father/former Marine who finds himself down in Mexico, looking for his missing daughter, Leigh. Leigh Beckwith and her college friend, Billi Langencamp, went down to Mexico to party and ended up getting much more than they bargained for… As the movie begins Sean Beckwith is south of the border doing some independent investigating. Sean tracks down Leigh’s car at impound lot in Juarez. This discovery prompts Sean to go to the local authorities, but they are less than cooperative to say the least. Sean’s old war buddy Max (Cam Gigandet, Never Back Down) gets Sean a meeting with a government official to see if they can be of assistance, although personally Max says he’d go do down there, force the dirty cops to talk and if they didn’t, burn the whole damn city down until he found Leigh… The General that Sean speaks to helps paint several unpleasant pictures involving the Los Mercenarios cartel and the girls possibly being forced into becoming sex workers. The General can’t really do anything and he says as much, but he is also aware of Sean’s military background and warns him that messing with Los Mercenarios would not be a good idea.
- Breaking News: The story of Leigh and Billi gone missing in Mexico hits the news cycle. Outside of their ranch in Texas, Sean and his wife Susan are being interviewed by a phalanx of reporters. Susan pleads for the return of her daughter, while Sean ends the interview promising his daughter (if she’s watching) that he will find her… I am not sure if Leigh was watching, but Victor Garza, the head of Los Mercenarios, was and he sends his brother Carlos, one of the dirty cops and a heavily armed group of Los Mercenarios soldiers to drive up to Texas and get to Sean Beckwith before Sean can get to them. They also have a man already in Texas who sets up a jammer that prevents calls from coming in or going out of the Beckwith’s ranch… which will soon come into play.
- Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: When Los Mercenarios roll into the Beckwith’s ranch it doesn’t take long for all hell to break loose… seriously Sean literally blows one of the guy’s heads off as they are driving up. The level of intensity never lets up during the entire home invasion sequence with Sean doing everything he can to pick off Los Mercenarios one by one and keep his wife and other daughter safe. The action is down and dirty and unapologetic. Somehow Sean manages to escape his home with his wife and daughter and eliminate the entire hit squad… but there’s still the issue of Leigh missing and taking care of Victor Garza, the guy who tried to wipe out him and his entire family… one call to his ride and die Max is all that he is required before the two former Marine badasses go down to Mexico to kick some Cartel ass!
Shrapnel feels like a good old fashioned direct to video action movie that you would have found on the shelves of Blockbuster video back in the day. A big reason for that has to do with the action loving folks behind the camera. Shrapnel was directed by William Kaufman of Sinners and Saints and Daylight’s End fame and was written by Chad Law and Johnny Walters. In fact, Shrapnel borrows a little from other Chad Law written Taken inspired actioners, 6 Bullets and Close Range.
As far as in front of the camera… Jason Patric is not somebody I would have pegged as the lead in an action movie in 2023, but after watching him in a movie for the first time in years, I have to say he felt right in the role of “dad on a mission”. Cam Gigandet makes the most of his sidekick role and probably has the most memorable scene in the entire movie during the closing moments. If I ever had to rescue a loved one down in Mexico, I am calling Cam.
Shrapnel is now available on VOD on all the usual platforms from Saban Films.