“Day shift”: what does Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco’s movie fail on Netflix? | REVIEW

A decade after starring in the hit “Django Unchained” (“Django Unchained”), Jamie Foxx He once again has a starring role in a film where weapons and, of course, blood, are the main course. Although on this occasion, the peculiarities around this new production are diametrically different. And your final result too.

And it is that “Day Shift” (“Day Shift”), the new film of the outstanding 54-year-old African-American actor, first of all, has not been released in cinema, but on Netflix. On the other hand, here the director is not an experienced and virtuoso filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino, but rather a rookie: JJ Perry, who, beyond his extensive experience as head of ‘stunt doubles’, does not seem to have curdled if of direction we speak. But we will explain that later.

“Django Unchained”, finally, was a western notoriously touched by realism. Quite the opposite occurs with “Day Shift”, an audiovisual proposal that, although it has a plot line linked to the human/family, is fundamentally a vampire film that, on more than one occasion, thoroughly demands the aspects linked to the so long-awaited verisimilitude.

This new Netflix movie tells the story of Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) a man who works as a pool cleaner in Los Angeles, but who actually works as a vampire hunter in a city that at times seems besieged by them. The protagonist of the film is the father of a girl (Page / Zion Broadnax), the result of his already ended relationship with Jocelyn (Meagan Good).

Precisely here comes the plot pillar of the JJ Perry film. Jocelyn looks to sell her house to move to Florida with her daughter, leaving Bud alone in LA. When he asks her to reconsider his decision, she reminds him of his breaches regarding support. Then a proposal arises: “10 thousand dollars until next Monday.” If our fake pool cleaner manages to raise that money, the girl stays close to him.

As we said lines above, “Day Shift” is -from its first minutes– a vampire movie. Perry is in charge of quickly showing us what we will have for almost 120 minutes: a brave Bud who, thanks to his enviable arsenal of weapons, is capable of ‘killing’ whoever stands in front of him. He does the same with an apparently innocent granny who, after receiving a first shot, becomes a powerful martial arts fighter.

In the way the director shows us the endless fights between humans and vampires, we find perhaps the greatest weakness of “Day Shift”. A granny twirling and dealing terrible blows to Bud may be surprising at first, but if it goes on for several minutes she loses her steam. The same with the following fights. Let’s clarify: as far as the maneuvers are concerned, everything looks correct (Perry’s experience as a doubles boss is not in vain), but at one point we feel that the tape is nothing more than that. It is as if we were watching a video game where vampires are eliminated in automatic mode. Bullets here, fists there, stab wounds to the chest and liters of blood.

That vampire granny that Bud eliminated after an endless confrontation turned out to be the daughter of Audrey San Fernando (Karla Souza), an eccentric villain who works as a real estate agent. It is taking advantage of this work that she will seek to fill all corners of Los Angeles with vampires. Of course, everything seems to work out for him until Bud’s action alters everything and his purposes change: revenge must be taken by killing the daughter or wife of the fake pool cleaner.

Although the film began alone, our protagonist soon finds the circle that once sheltered him. Desperate to get the money to ensure he has his daughter Paige close by, Bud wants the Vampire Hunting Syndicate of Los Angeles to pardon the reasons for which he was expelled some time ago (rule violations, among other problems) and reinstate him. enroll. This is when a series of colorful characters make their appearance. From rapper Snoop Dogg, who brings his personal stamp by playing Big John Elliott, a respected vampire hunter who manages to broker Bud’s return to the union, to Dave Franco (Seth), in charge of giving life to a union representative who must ‘monitor’ and report if Bud breaks the regulations again.

Although Jamie Foxx’s performance is solid, we are not exaggerating if we mention Franco as perhaps the best of this film. His role is to play a humble office worker who, although he has all the theory about vampires in his head, has never ‘stepped on the street’, so after mixing with the ‘creole’ Bud, he will become a brave character . Thus, in the changes suffered by Seth throughout the film we have perhaps the great strength of “Day Shift”. Seeing him first piss himself in fear at the beginning of the operations, and then confronting vampires with his bare fists is clearly convincing.

It may be somewhat demanding to compare “Django Unchained” with “Day Shift”, but if we look at it from a more utilitarian side, making this comparison could very well help us understand how the film industry has changed in the last decade. From large studios that bet and believed in a brilliant filmmaker like Tarantino (now close to retirement) for a bloody film, but with an undeniably good plot (a story of love and revenge with fine historical touches), to streaming chains that, in In their quest to secure their millions of subscribers, they stumble upon giving debutant directors an opportunity, capable of producing a two-hour ‘package’ with full bullet and blood, in which there is certainly anything but depth.

DAY SHIFT / NETFLIX

Address: JJ Perry

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Duration: 113 minutes:

Synopsis: A Los Angeles vampire hunter has one week to come up with the money for his daughter’s school and dental treatment. Making a living these days could kill him.