Mel Gibson has been conspicuously absent from the silver screen of late. He is back with a vengeance, though, in Lionsgate’s Blood Father. Gibson, who hasn’t headlined a movie since 2012 (Get the Gringo) and hasn’t been in a theatrical success since 2002’s Signs, takes on a roll that has characterized the majority of his films: An angry man who needs to fight for his family. This film has been in development for years with Sylvester Stallone tabbed to play Gibson’s role of John Link way back in 2008.
Blood Father presents Gibson as John Link, an ex-con who was never around to raise his daughter. Now 16, Link’s daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) contacts him with an emergency; she accidentally shot her boyfriend, a drug kingpin, and is wanted by both the law and those outside the law. Link intervenes and attempts to save his estranged daughter and make up for all the times he wasn’t there for her.
Jean-François Richet directs in his 2nd English language feature film following Assault on Precinct 13. The novel and screenplay were written by Peter Craig who first found movie success with Ben Affleck’s The Town. Craig also wrote the screenplay for both Mockingjay films and is currently working on two extremely significant scripts: Top Gun 2 (Top Gun Part Deux?) and Bad Boys 3. Craig brings some current credibility for recent box office triumph that could indicate some positive results for Blood Father. Couple this with some great feedback from film festival reviewers (Rotten Tomatoes 83% critic score) and this might just be one to get excited for.
Joining the cast are William H Macy (Shameless) as Link’s friend Kirby, Elizabeth Rohm (American Hustle) as Link’s ex-wife Ursula, and Diego Luna (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Lydia’s boyfriend/cartel leader. It also features bit parts for Thomas Mann (Beautiful Creatures), Michael Parks (Django Unchained), and Dale Dickey (True Blood).
Check out the Official Trailer:
Blood Father makes it’s way into theaters August 25th.
