Underwhelming
Summary
Blasting has a few entertaining moments with Zhong Li the stand out in terms of the cast; the CG explosions are disappointing and the characters don’t make much of an impact. The finale fizzles out too, so there are plenty of other, better movies like this instead.
Plot: After an explosion in Binhai City, SWAT leader Xu Zhongmin discovers a link to a failed bombing case from eight years ago. Teaming up with investigator Qiu Jie, he seeks answers as past criminals resurface and the truth behind the chaos unfolds.
Review: I saw this on Hi-Yah! last night and thought it sounded interesting; the brisk runtime of 83 minutes was also a major factor. This was released in China back in 2022 and I haven’t seen any reviews for it anywhere which didn’t bode well.
The stand out in terms of the cast is Zhong Lei as the (kind of) villain Ah Gui, but you root for him anyway just because he’s cool. The performances are decent enough but I found I never really cared about any of the characters; there were at least a few fight scenes, but all of the explosions are done with dodgy CGI and fail to convince.
Storywise it feels like a poor man’s Shock Wave with a bomb disposal expert haunted by losing someone early on in the film; it cuts to several years later and the explosions begin again and he fears that it’s the same bomber as before.
It sounds like an exciting plot, but the execution feels rather cheap and the finale was underwhelming with no major set-piece.
Overall, Blasting is elevated by Zhong Lei as Gui and a couple of fight scenes, but I never cared about anyone and the explosions are done using CG which is a major letdown. There are worse ways to spend 83 minutes, but I’d recommend something like Blown Away instead as at least the explosions are real.