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Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Anjelica Huston

Clint Eastwood's Blood Work is a refreshing reminder that Hollywood's young Turks can still learn a lesson from good old-fashioned craftsmanship. Settling into an easygoing groove that recalls ...( read more  read more... )his early work in Play Misty for Me, the 72-year-old producer-director-star acknowledges his age by playing a retired FBI profiler and recent heart-transplant recipient. He's recruited by his heart donor's grieving sister (Wanda De Jesus) to find her dead sibling's killer, and personal obligation compels his dutiful but health-risking investigation. From a sharp, sensible script by L.A. Confidential Oscar® winner Brian Helgeland (from Michael Connelly's novel), Blood Work consistently plays to Eastwood's no-nonsense approach, elevating the mystery while giving Jeff Daniels (as Eastwood's neighbor and amateur sidekick) a substantial role in the suspenseful proceedings. Some may chuckle at a brief Eastwood-De Jesus love scene, but there's ample proof here that Clint's still got all the right moves. --Jeff Shannon

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43% liked it

16,710 ratings

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54% liked it

147 critics

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Release Date: August 9, 2002

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DVD Release Date: December 27, 2002

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Flixster Reviews (501)

  • sanjurosamurai
    November 22, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    excellently written and very interesting, but at the same time it was a bit easy to figure out, contained a pointless and contrived romance, and featured a few actors that turned in sub par performances. overall definitely worth the watch, but its unbelievable how much eastwood ...( read more)improved as a director in just a few short years after this when he hit his stride.
  • PvtCaboose91
    July 30, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "I'm the following sea, man. I'm the one you need to watch out for."


    It seems the older Clint Eastwood becomes, the more mileage he can extract from his age and the more his aging persona appears to fit him. Embodying everything one could love about the movies, Clint

    ...( read more) is an everyman, an action hero, a tough-talker, a girl magnet and a keen-eyed detective all rolled into one. On top of this, he's also a masterful filmmaker. And for a man in his 70s, that's a tough act to beat. It's disappointing to report, then, that 2002's Blood Work (while well-crafted by director Eastwood) is such a routine, predictable and sometimes perilously naff thriller. In a sense, this movie is a bit like eating a meal you've already devoured hundreds of times before - familiar, fairly uneventful and boasting no real surprises, but tasty and inviting nonetheless.


    In Blood Work, Eastwood continues his exploration of the aging action hero and takes it to the very brink of logical conclusion. Here the actor plays a retired FBI profiler named Terry McCaleb. Two year prior, he was working on a case concerning a serial killer renowned for leaving codes at every murder site. Flash forward to the present, and McCaleb is recovering after a heart transplant. A woman named Graciella Rivers (De Jesus) soon contacts McCaleb, asking him to investigate the death of her sister who was shot dead during a convenience store robbery. McCaleb reluctantly agrees to the assignment when he finds out that he received the heart of Graciella's sister.


    Blood Work commences with a jazzy score that plays during the opening credits - an old-fashioned piece of music which establishes the picture as a throwback to an earlier era of more laid-back mystery thrillers. It's therefore a shame that Eastwood fails to capitalise on the film's potential. The script (penned by Brian Helgeland, who adapted Michael Connelly's novel of the same name) is pedestrian, while the plot is pure mechanics, with the wheels grinding at a pace so leisurely that it isn't difficult to predict the twists. The clues McCaleb unearths are so obvious that any half-thinking viewer will have solved the "whodunnit" of the film early into the proceedings. Once one determines the identity of the killer, the "why" of his actions isn't hard to deduce, and thus the majority of the movie is reduced to pointless running around. It's a bad sign if an audience can figure everything out before the characters, which makes them seem frustratingly slow and daft.


    For the first hour of its runtime, Blood Work is a compelling thriller despite a painfully obvious plot trajectory and a few silly moments (an early foot-chase feels awkwardly tagged on and is quite laughable). Beyond the first hour, the film quickly falls apart. The proceedings become either clichéd or cringe-worthy (the relationship between McCaleb and Graciella reaching the bedroom, for instance). Blood Work is also quite lazy and poorly constructed, with the camera inexplicably lingering on things that will obviously have relevance later on and characters not mentioning small details which would clearly help solve the case. Aside from the clumsy screenplay, there are other annoyances associated with the flick. Characters possess a tendency to utter irritating and inappropriate wisecracks, for example, and the climax is far too Hollywood.


    At least Eastwood's direction is top-notch (even if he falters when it comes to hiding future plot twists). Without ever feeling the need to indulge in the flashy editing techniques or the gimmicky camera work that disguises a lack of imagination in younger directors (such as Michael Bay), Eastwood handles Blood Work with smooth and precise skill. He's simply the best old-fashioned director of the 21st Century. And in front of the camera, the actor still emanates a gripping screen presence. Eastwood evokes his Dirty Harry image here; giving us an aging, flawed version of his most celebrated role. However the character of McCaleb is in some aspects unlike the heroes Eastwood has played in the past - he's not too physical, but more of a thinker. It's a pity the material fails to serve Eastwood's perfectly nuanced performance.


    Blood Work is one of Eastwood's weakest efforts to date; suffering from exaggerated action, plenty of clichés and too many preposterous moments. But with the behind-the-scenes expertise of a director who cares about the art of filmmaking, this thriller is easily far more entertaining than it should have been. There's something about the flavour of Eastwood's work that allows a viewer to overlook the flaws and tiresome material...at least for a little while.
  • garyX
    July 1, 2009
    garyX
    A retired FBI agent investigates the murder of the woman whose heart he received in a transplant operation. Clint continues the theme of tough guys dealing with old age he began in In The Line Of Fire and completed with Gran Torino. The ridiculous premise of this tired bag of gen...( read more)re cliches is just the first of many laughably familiar contrivances that leads to the film feeling like a parody of itself; this is one of those films you spend watching the bumbling cops and shouting "Have you never SEEN a serial killer movie??!" It's absurdly predictable from beginning to end, from the blatant identity of the killer (because he is, as ever, the one you are supposed to least suspect) to the ludicrous love interest and finale in which Mr Psycho kidnaps Clint's nearest and dearest and tries to mow him down with an assault rifle even though he has spent the rest of the film taking such extreme pains to keep him alive. The clues are all dangled in front of the audience's nose with clumsy flashbacks and some of the dialogue (particularly during the painful love scene) is cringeworthy. Clint's reliability both in front of and behind the camera keeps it the right side of watchable (just) but there are a lot of very similar SK movies that are much better than this.
  • garystev
    December 27, 2008
    garystev
    Serviceable Eastwook crime thriller with some genuinely tense moments and a few surprises. Eastwood seems to coast through on autopilot and Daniels seems to be having a great time. Feels like it could have almost been a final Dirty Harry movie. Unfortunately the whole thing lacks...( read more) ambition. Still as a bog standard crime thriller, it does the job and manages to have some creepy moments.
  • 76Majikat
    October 24, 2008
    76Majikat
    An original take on a serial killer film, not particular tense for a thriller and a little slow moving, but a much enjoyed story all the same.
  • superclerk25
    November 21, 2009
    superclerk25
    This was a good movie with a good script and good actors. It's very by the book and enjoyable. The only issue comes at the very end of the movie when the bad guy goes from cool and calculated to giggly and comical.
    There is also a romantic element to the movie that wasn't reall...( read more)y needed.
  • Yelverton
    November 13, 2009
    Yelverton
    Great psychological thriller with a twist at the end.
  • jackgbowman
    October 26, 2009
    jackgbowman
    well done Jeff daniels is great.
  • ElCochran90
    October 17, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "Clint Eastwood's Blood Work is a refreshing reminder that Hollywood's young Turks can still learn a lesson from good old-fashioned craftsmanship."

    Haha! Right! Eastwood has lost it and just when I thought he couldn't top the lousiness of his patriotism in Space Cowboys, he di...( read more)d. Blood Work is a project that still wants to show Eastwood as the ultmate bad-ass guy despite his age following the most formulaic elements of an average crime film. It disappoints, so my advice is to stay away.

    43/100
  • phbasketball6
    August 13, 2009
    phbasketball6
    Good film. Definetly not Eastwood's best but it wasn't bad. There is good suspense throughout the whole movie that makes you think. Eastwood and Daniels did great acting.

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Critic Reviews

August 20, 2002
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

It doesn't sound bad...but Bloodwork is bad, oh, lordy, yes, it is. full review

August 9, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Far-fetched and trite. full review

August 9, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The strength of the picture, directed by Eastwood, is that it has three intersecting story arcs: The investigation, the health issues, and the relationship that builds, step by step. full review

August 8, 2002
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A sturdy, suspenseful throwback. full review

August 8, 2002
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

What Blood Work lacks in speed and surprise it almost makes up for in doughty professionalism. full review

View more Blood Work reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Blood Work Trivia

  • Clint Eastwood first experimented with composing music in the film Unforgiven, being uncredited for composing "Claudia's Theme". He began feature-length composing films in the 2000s. Of the films he has thus far directed in the 2000s, which one did not feature music composed by Eastwood?  Answer »
  • What movie did Jeff daniels and Clint eastwood star in together?  Answer »
  • Which of these moives was John Travolta not in?  Answer »
  • Who was the author of the book based on which the film, Blood Work, starring Clint Eastwood was made?  Answer »
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