Kit Harington’s Standout Performance Is Overshadowed By A Forgettable Plot

Blood for Dust is meant to evoke Fargo vibes, but it fails to live up to the 1996 Academy Award-winning movie and will likely be forgotten by most. The action crime thriller, directed by Rod Blackhurst, depicts a struggling traveling salesman haunted by a crime from his past who decides to get his hands even dirtier once he becomes desperate for money. However, the film, which premiered at 2023’s Tribeca Film Festival (and is far from one of the best action movies in 2023), falls short of making the audience care about the protagonist (or any of the characters).

Blood for Dust is an action-crime thriller from director Rod Blackhurst, and follows a traveling salesman named Cliff. Cliff is given the chance to escape his unfortunate circumstances through a job offer by his old friend. Though hesitant, Cliff accepts, only to discover he’s been thrust into a dangerous gun and drug-running ring by a ruthless cartel leader.

Pros

• Kit Harington and the cast are fantastic, giving standout performances

Cons

• There are too many shootouts, which overtake the story
• The film’s story lacks depth
• The characters’ motives are forgettable

Despite its lack of meaningful and surprising character development, one of the few good attributes that Blood for Dust has going for it is its impressive cast, which includes a handful of big names, including Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who plays Ricky alongside Scoot McNairy as Cliff, and Josh Lucas as John among others. Unfortunately, the actors and actresses weren’t given much to work with as the action crime thriller’s story lacks depth, surprises, and intrigue.

Blood For Dust Is Intense & Dark, But Easily Forgettable

The action crime thriller is only temporarily thrilling

Blood for Dust begins on a shocking note that seemingly sets the tone for the movie, but the opening scene promises that the story will be much more intriguing than it turns out to be. For all intents and purposes, the action crime thriller can be summarized in one sentence — a boring salesman is terrible at his job, so he resorts to crime, which he is surprisingly (or not so surprisingly for the narrative’s sake) good at. Despite its consistently dark, brutal, and intense tone, it’s easy to forget exactly what happens in Blood for Dust and the characters’ motives.

Blood for Dust tries to incorporate the best parts of Fargo and Breaking Bad, but the film fails to understand what made both so memorable and interesting. In this case, imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery. The thrills are short-lived — aside from the opening scene and a middle sequence that completely flips the script, one of the movie’s few highlights — so the plot is more boring than exciting. Additionally, Blood for Dust‘s ending is predictable as its story has been told numerous times in other movies and shows, many of which have executed it better.

Blood For Dust’s Action Scenes Are Too Frequent & Drawn Out

The movie has more shootout scenes than necessary

While Blood for Dust is no John Wick (and it isn’t meant to be), the movie’s action scenes are flawed. As mentioned above, the action crime thriller includes one scene in the middle that is intense, shocking, and knows when to end. Unfortunately, it’s the only one, as the other action sequences are just drawn-out shootouts that make up more than half of the film. At points like these, Blood for Dust gets repetitive and boring, tempting one to play on their phone for 10 minutes until the scene is over.

Blood For Dust’s Strongest Attribute Is Its Cast

Kit Harington gives the film’s best performance

Of course, Blood for Dust features some positives, the most significant being its talented cast. Sadly, the film is a boy’s club; the story neglects its women characters to focus on the men. Nevertheless, all three of the aforementioned actors are veteran performers who know how to make the best out of any script. But since Lucas’ character has minimal screen time in the action crime thriller, McNairy and Harington are the standouts, with the latter giving the most memorable performance.

Harington’s character in Blood for Dust is undoubtedly the most intriguing, and he may surprise audiences the most. Ricky plays a substantial role in the movie’s biggest shocker, and Harington portrays the rugged, greedy, and reckless character perfectly. Even though the story fails to give Ricky much background and depth, Harington strings together a noteworthy performance that is ultimately one of the best parts of Blood for Dust.