'Jolt' Review: Kate Beckinsale Fails To Save This Film From Being A Drab Affair

Despite having the potential to be something remarkable, Jolt leaves the viewer feeling disappointed as it suffers largely from poor execution.

Directed by Tanya Wexler, Jolt stars action star Kate Beckinsale as Lindy Lewis, a young woman with a medical issue known as intermittent explosive disorder (which basically means she always loses her sh*t like the Hulk).

As a result of her condition, Lindy has to always have a sort of electric apparatus attached to her body. Whenever she seems to lose her temper, she gives herself a tiny jolt of electricity to calm herself down.

The protagonist grew up without friends and decides to have a social life, opting to go out on a date with the attractive hunk Justin (Jai Courtney). 

After seeing him twice, Lindy starts to develop feelings for Justin but their romance isn't given the chance to blossom as the latter is murdered.

Angered by his death, Lindy decides to unleash her repressed anger as she makes a decision to fish out those responsible for the murder of Justin. At the end of her journey is a twist that she will never see coming.

I watched the trailer for Jolt and being a fan of Beckinsale (she won me over with her impressive performance in the Underworld films), I expected to get entertained. All I got was one and a half hours of disappointment.

Jolt is held back by a lot of issues like unrealistic choices by almost all of the supporting characters (a cop who barely knows the protagonist suddenly decides support her even though she is regarded as a suspect), lame action (even with the effects and slow motion, it still sucks), and cheap-looking visual effects.

When it comes to the acting, Beckinsale is the only one who does her part well. The other actors leave a lot to be desired.

Laverne Cox as Detective Nevin is abysmal in the role. All her scenes had me cringing and I wonder who on God's green earth cast her to play the part.

The several attempts to relieve the tension with humour fall flat and most of the jokes aren't even funny. The talented Stanley Tucci is wasted here as well.

When the antagonist finally shows himself, he was exactly who I predicted he was going to be. The ensuing explosion in the scene when Lindy confronts him had me shaking my head in amazement because the CGI is one of the worst I've ever seen.

Jolt is a mediocre film that I hope doesn't get a sequel (Hollywood has a habit of making sequels out of almost anything these days). Kate Beckinsale, you're mostly a joy to watch but here, even your star power isn't enough.

Rating: 4/10.