REVIEW: Blasted

 Have you ever wondered if skills in Laser Tag would be crucial during an alien invasion while attending a poorly executed bachelor party?  I'm sure you have.  I know that it plagues my mind at night.  Tossing and turning, I just can't help get the thought out of my mind.  Thankfully for all of us, the Norwegian comedy Blasted gives us the answer.

Sebastian (Axel Boyum) is getting married, and his straight laced friend Audun (Mathias Luppichini) has planned a perfect bachelor party complete with board games and all of those other manly devices that a red-blooded male craves in those last days of freedom before entering into the sacred bond of wedlock.  Sebastian is trying to land a big investor (Kasper, played by Andre Sorum) at work, so the smartest thing to do is to bring this guy along for the weekend away.  Good friend Pelle (Eirik Hallart) is also on the roster, so solid times will be had. 

What Sebastian doesn't know is that his childhood friend Mikkel (Fredrik Skogsrud) has been invited, and this causes some tension.  Mikkel is an immature person, and the two former friends are now very different people.  While on this fun time of revelry, they realize that aliens are amongst them.  If this sounds very familiar, it is because it is.  

The premise is very similar to that of The World's End, but that doesn't bother me too much.  The movie has its own style and sense of fun.  The characters each have personalities that seem rounded, and they are fun to spend the runtime with.

Blasted nailed for me the sense of humour and kind of comedy that I enjoyed as a teenager.  There are lots of problems with this film, but the fact that it was able to teleport me through time and remind me what I was like a few decades ago was where its charm landed for me.  There are some standard character arcs that you would assume from a film like this, and perhaps the film could be criticized for lacking complete originality.

The joy for me, as mentioned, was that return to younger years that Blasted accomplished.  When a film is able to accomplish that sort of task, it is always fun.  The humour was silly, the characters all had their own quirky elements, and the interplay between them provided some good chuckles for me.

The issue with a film taking you back to a specific time in life is that it is a very personal experience.  I liked the film because of who I was as a teenager, and not everyone will be able to relate to the film the same way I did.  If ever there was a film where I had to provide a disclaimer to those reading the review, this would be it.  What worked for me was the fancy it tickled from a very personal time of life.  What worked for me may not work for you.

Having said that, I think folks who enjoy lighthearted and goofy films may find this to be a decent movie to watch.  With many imperfections, there are also many moments that can latch onto the funny bone and do what a comedy does best.  Don't expect an 'elevated comedy' experience, but it sure can prove to be some fun escapism.

Rating - 3 out of 4 stars