Year of Release: 2022
Director: J. J. Perry
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Meagan Good, Karla Souza, Steve Howey, Scott Adkins, Oliver Masucci, Snoop Dogg, Eric Lange, Peter Stormare, Zion Broadnax
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Netflix
Synopsis and Review
"Day Shift" marks the directorial debut for J. J. Perry who has had an extensive and prestigious career as a Stunt Coordinator since the 90s, including contributions to such films as David O. Russell's "Three Kings", Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" and more recently Ang Lee's "Gemini Man". "Day Shift" follows the story of Bud Jablonski, a pseudo pool cleaning man, who is in reality a vampire hunter and killer. His life suddenly shifts when his ex-wife tells him she's moving from California to Florida due to the high cost of living. Wanting to avoid that at all costs, Bud decides to try once again to get back to the vampire hunting union, which he is able to do with the endorsement of his friend, "Big" John, another vampire hunter. However a few conditions for his return include: working the day shift, and having Seth, an inexperienced union rep, tagging along with him. Seth is supposed to keep track of what he does, and make sure everything gets done as the union establishes it. They soon find themselves the target of a particularly powerful vampire, since without realizing Bud killed someone close to that head vampire. It will take all their resourcefulness to defeat this powerful creature.
The cadre of films Netflix is releasing on a continuous cadence, is comprised of features which are starting to look eerily similar, even if the directors are quite different, as are the cast and creative teams. These films feel very much like rushed action films, which in the 80s and 90s would be tagged under the label "straight to video". Netflix provides considerable funding and budget for these films, much like they did with Anthony and Joe Russo's forgettable (and expensive) "The Gray Man", however in the case of "Day Shift", even with the always engaging Jamie Foxx and more than able support from Dave Franco, what ultimately comes across is just how uninspired and rote these features actually are. The tropes of the loner central character who has burned all bridges in his life is nothing new, but in this case the hero is a rogue vampire killer. This particular enhancement could have really infused the feature with something particularly distinctive, alas it doesn't. The rebel hero has to adhere to the rules of a bureaucratic organization so he can keep his daughter and ex-wife in town and is partnered with a rookie partner. The opportunities to play with the tropes of the genre are evidently on display, and the cast is obviously talented to carry it through, sadly the screenplay never really expands much or capitalizes on different plot points, going for exhausted narrative ploys. Dave Franco tries his best with whatever little he has from a sketch of a character, the same going for Jamie Foxx, who seems to have just played a somewhat similar role in yet another Netflix film, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman's "Project Power". J.J. Perry manages to choreograph some violent and brutal fight scenes, however the characters motivations and dimension are non-existent, and the film ultimately renders itself as something generic and forgettable.
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