Kate Beckinsale kicking ass in a high voltage action movie. What’s not to like?

Actually, there could be a lot not to like. I am not a fan of Beckinsale’s UNDERWORLD vampire action series, as I find those movies poorly written and terribly boring. That being said, today’s movie, JOLT (2021), a new action flick now available on Prime Video, is actually a lot of fun.

In JOLT, Lindy (Kate Beckinsale) suffers from an unusual condition in which she cannot control her anger and as a result kicks the living sh*t out of anyone who makes her angry. If this were a Marvel superhero movie she’d be turning green and shouting “Smash!” In fact, she and the Hulk would be perfect for each other. JOLT is also marketed as a comedy, and while you won’t be laughing throughout, there are some laugh out loud moments here and there, but more importantly, the humor serves as a reminder that this film certainly does not take itself too seriously. So, Lindy’s condition is treated lightly. This is not a movie about angst.

Lindy finally finds some relief when her psychiatrist Dr. Munchin (Stanley Tucci) provides her with an experimental exoskeleton of electrodes that zap her with jolts of electricity which help manage her temper. Dr. Munchin also advises that she get out more and go on some dates. She takes his advice and meets Justin (Jai Courtney) who immediately sweeps her off her feet. She feels so good that she declares to Dr. Munchin that she’s now cured! But her joy is short-lived when Justin is murdered the next night. Her new hopes shattered, Lindy makes it her mission to find out who killed Justin and when she does to make them pay. She needs to stay one step ahead of the two investigating police detectives, Detective Vicars (Bobby Cannavale) and Detective Nevin (Laverne Cox), and her quest for justice doesn’t get any easier when she learns that Justin was involved with some very powerful and very dangerous people. Of course.

The worst thing that can be said about JOLT is its plot is threadbare. Lindy and all her talents are stuck in a plot in which she’s investigating the murder of a guy she dated twice. That’s as intricate as it gets, folks. And the plot twist at the end I saw coming a mile away.

But the rest of the screenplay by Scott Wascha is very good. The dialogue is fun and witty, and the characters fleshed out pretty darn well for a fast paced action movie. Of course it helps that JOLT is blessed with an impressive cast.

Leading the way is Kate Beckinsale. She makes for a believable action hero even in a film where believability isn’t always key. Just as the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, there’s a lot of playfulness in Beckinsale’s performance even as she is taking out the deadly bad guys in some pretty violent scenes. She’s in most of the movie, and she easily carries this one.

Stanley Tucci, who is always a joy to watch, is really good in his scenes as Dr. Munchin, and he and Beckinsale share a fun chemistry. Every time she bursts into his office, he pulls a handgun from his desk drawer to protect himself. And when she fights to control her anger over things he’s saying, she imagines herself killing him, and when she returns to the here and now, Munchin calmly asks her how she killed him this time. Asphyxiation? And she tells him no, punctured artery. And he nods and the session continues.

Bobby Cannavale is excellent as Detective Vicars. He is instantly attracted to Lindy, and he goes out of his way to help her. Cannavale and Beckinsale also share a strong chemistry. The characters and their relationships really come to life in this movie, which for an action flick, surprised me.

I also enjoyed Laverne Cox as Detective Nevin. Unlike her partner, Nevin doesn’t trust Lindy at all and makes it her mission to single-handedly capture the woman, and their spirited confrontations make for some of the livelier comedic scenes in the film.

Jai Courtney is charming as Justin, the boyfriend who meets an untimely death, and the film boasts a couple of notable villains as well. Ori Pfeffer plays Delacroix, a cool henchman and enforcer who Lindy tangles with on more than one occasion, and their final confrontation is a good one. And David Bradley makes for an icy cold deadly recluse Gareth Fizel, the villain who is pulling all the strings.

Even Susan Sarandon shows up as a mysterious woman with no name.

But the best part of JOLT, even better than the stellar cast, is the direction by director Tanya Wexler. JOLT is full of impressive and exciting action scenes, and even more so, thrilling chase scenes. JOLT features some of the more exhilarating chase scenes I’ve seen in a long time. The camerawork in these scenes is amazing. While the hand to hand fight scenes aren’t quite as impressive as similar scenes in ATOMIC BLONDE (2017) or EXTRACTION (2020), they come close.

The chase scene in which Detective Nevin pursues Lindy through a hospital is phenomenal, and the car chase sequence where Lindy steals Nevin’s car and is pursued by Nevin and Vicars is even more exciting.

Wexler also directed BUFFALOED (2019), a dark quirky film I really enjoyed, but I think I liked JOLT even more. There’s just so much spirited energy in JOLT. Other than its ho hum standard plot, JOLT as a comedic action flick really soars.

With Kate Beckinsale leading the way, JOLT is an enjoyable thrill ride that will give you quite the charge.

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