Blood Ties

R

Released Mar 21, 2014

2 hr. 8 min.

Crime

Drama

List

53%

55 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

An ex-con (Clive Owen) tries to pull away from a life of crime, but the temptation proves too strong, bringing his already-strained relationship with his policeman brother (Billy Crudup) to the breaking point.

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Critics Consensus

Blood Ties boasts a fine cast and palpable period detail, but ultimately fails to do much of anything new with its formulaic story.

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jwcdood

BLOOD TIES is a really odd flick because practically✨ALL✨the good and bad reviews — both critics and audience alike — are 100% on what they're saying: it's as good as they say it is and it's not so good as they saying it is. From my seat in the audience, the story itself, casting and performances by all are actually fine, but there's nothing fresh and memorable or unique. The underlying problem seems to be with the screenplay and direction, which may be an indication that budget/time constraints could have been the underlying issues. At any rate, I'm glad I watched it and it did connect, but it wasn't as engaging as it should and could have been. Too bad, because it was a good story.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

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jelisije j

A good family drama cop film that would've been better off as a tv series rather than a standalone movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Too many movies nowadays are all action with little plot, and this was the opposite. The pace of the movie was slow with lots of dialogue and not a lot of action. As a result, this made the movie feel twice as long, which isn't good for a movie that is 2 hours & 7 minutes long. There were plenty of scenes that could have been edited out. This would be a good movie over 2 days so it didn't feel so long. The ending was predictable, but a good conclusion to the story. The movie was released in 2013 so Hollywood didn't push their social engineering messages as strongly, but they're still there front and center. It's getting to the point where we must turn to movies from the 80s because Hollywood is shoving their agenda down our throats.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lots of scene chewing and obvious strife which ultimately surprises to be a family film

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

laurie s

You've got this stupid rat's tail under your nose, Frank, you're a useless cop, Frank, plus you're a scumbag, Frank, and to top it all you're a miserable bastard, Frank. So why don't you do us all a favour and hang yourself? It's an okay movie but the amount of cigarettes smoked means someone's going to get lung cancer. Incidentally, in real life in prison they don't just have chicken wire separating inmates and visitors, it's glass so touching can't happen. Meanwhile we have Chris who's a low-life vermin creature who deserves to have a red hot poker shoved up where the sun don't shine for eternity. It's not a very nice family but they don't have two brain cells to rub together.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's an okay watch. The acting is strong, as is the cast. But, the story is all over the place. it feels like they took a 3 hour movie and edited the hell out of it to reduce the watch time to 2 hours. That leaves a lot of gaps in the story. it was free, so I can't complain, but it's not a must see.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/13/18

Full Review

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Guillaume Canet

Director

Clive Owen

Chris

Billy Crudup

Frank

Marion Cotillard

Monica

Mila Kunis

Natalie

Zoe Saldana

Vanessa

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

In its lesser moments, the film is overwrought and derivative but, at its best, it has a real flavour of Friedkin, Coppola and Scorsese.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 15, 2014

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

It starts out feeling like too many stars in search of a story, but Owen excels as a charismatic brute, and the tautly handled set pieces drag you back in for a solid payoff.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 15, 2014

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Guardian

A cunningly chosen soundtrack featuring the likes of Ace Frehley, Al Wilson and the Isley Brothers attempts to paper over the cracks withcool, but it's not convincing.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 14, 2014

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

It does manage to be an engrossing faux saga, nonetheless, despite a handful of foibles that work against its success.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Adam Lowes

CineVue

It's nothing that hasn't been seen numerous times before, and despite the injection of a starry line-up of some of the finest actors working today, the creative duo fail to bring anything particularly innovative or new to an already crowded table.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 3, 2019

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The National (UAE)

Blood Ties, despite pumping out some exhilarating action sequences, ends up becoming a clich-ridden work.

Rated: 3/5

May 14, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

An ex-con (Clive Owen) tries to pull away from a life of crime, but the temptation proves too strong, bringing his already-strained relationship with his policeman brother (Billy Crudup) to the breaking point.

Director: Guillaume Canet
Executive Producer: Kerry Orent, James Gray, Vincent Maraval, Molly Conners, Sarah E. Johnson, Maria Cestone, Hoyt David Morgan
Screenwriter: Guillaume Canet, James Gray
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Production Co: M6, Caneo Films, France 3 Cinéma, Le Grisbi, France 4, Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, Worldview Entertainment, Canal+, Wild Bunch, W9, LGM Productions, Treasure Company, Mars Films, Ciné+, France Télévision, Les Productions du Trésor
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 14, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $41.2K

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