New to Netflix this week is the Norwegian sci-fi action-comedy, Blasted (aka Blasted: Gutta vs Aliens). The movie – directed by Martin Sofiedal – stars Axel Bøyum, Mathias Luppichini, and Eirik Hallert, and follows the story of a group of friends who have an extra-terrestrial encounter, while on a bachelor party.
In the movie, Sebastian, Audun, and Pelle are three friends who are preparing a weekend getaway ahead of Sebastian’s forthcoming wedding. The plan is to head to the mountain village of Hessdalen to have some drinks, take part in some fun activities, and just kick back for a few days.
Keen to bag himself a promotion at work, Sebastian thinks it is a good idea to invite his boss, Kasper, to join in on the fun. The group then expands from four to five, when Audun and Pelle invite Sebastian’s old friend Mikkel to tag along too.
After a slow start to the festivities, things soon get underway when the group decides to go paintballing. However, during a shoot-out, Sebastian hits a civilian with one of his paintballs, knocking him unconscious.
But as the group soon discover, this is not civilian at all and is instead an alien. And he’s not the only alien in Hessdalen – there are more throughout the village and they appear to be hostile. With the group now aware of the existence of extra-terrestrials they appear to be the planet’s only line of defence against an alien invasion. But do Sebastian and Co. have what it takes to kick some ET butt?
Blasted is a fairly fun, fairly enjoyable, and fairly decent action movie. I don’t think it’s going to rock anyone’s world, but for the most part it offers a good slice of entertainment, which gets better as the film progresses.
The first 30-minutes are fine, but are a little slow in places, as the story goes through the motions of setting up the premise. However, once the film pushes beyond the initial set-up, and moves away from the bachelor party and into the alien invasion plot line, things improve greatly.
From here Blasted leans heavily into the sci-fi element of its story and this brings in a bit of humour and plenty of action. There are also some nice scenes of spectacle, some decent special effects, a good use of lighting, and a general sense this is where the movie has found its groove.
Blasted has clearly been produced by people who are big fans of British director, Edgar Wright, or perhaps more specifically, Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End), and this is pretty much evident throughout. Blasted feels like a combination of all three movies, and fans will spot nods to Wright’s directing style at various points in the film.
I should point out that Blasted is not as strong as any of Wright’s films (please don’t think it is), but if you are a fan of the Cornetto Trilogy, then you may find Blasted to be a nice companion piece. It certainly has a similar vibe, even if it’s not as original or as humorous.
But if you’re after some straight-up fun, that doesn’t ask anything from you, then you can’t go far wrong with Blasted. The film is a likeable sci-fi adventure romp, which is well directed, features a good cast, and makes good use of its budget.
Once again, not particularly Earth-shattering stuff, but then it doesn’t need to be. Blasted’s main aim is to provide a bit of fun and entertainment, and it manages this perfectly well.
A mid-credit scene suggests that another instalment could follow, but if this movie proves to be a one-off, then this is perfectly OK. Blasted does what it sets out to do and I don’t see the need for anything beyond what we have here.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a comment