Blood Work

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Blood Work

R

Released Aug 9, 2002

1h 51m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

51%

Tomatometer

152 Reviews

40%

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10,000+ Ratings

FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) was hot on the trail of "The Code Killer" when a heart attack put him out of commission. A heart transplant later, Terry spends his time in the harbor on his houseboat -- that is, until he starts to investigate the facts surrounding his transplant. His donor was a murder victim, and the murder is still unsolved. With the help of his seaside neighbor, Buddy (Jeff Daniels), and over the protests of his doctor, Terry reopens the case.

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Critics Consensus

Blood Work is a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Disappointing, predictable, and graphic.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 22, 2010

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Typically for Eastwood, there are modest touches to savor.

Feb 9, 2006

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

Very silly: sometimes almost enjoyably so, often just in a tired way.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 20, 2003

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Mediocre crime pot-boiler from Clint Eastwood in actor-director mode.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 20, 2020

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Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

This vehicle—the cinematic equivalent of a supermarket paperback—plays like the best-ever episode of Matlock rather than a truly distinguished feature film. [Blu-ray]

Rated: 2/4

Jun 4, 2012

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Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

The pivotal teaser is a numerical code that baffles experts but gets cracked in one curious gaze by a schoolboy.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 7, 2008

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Darren C

How this movie rates so low is beyond me. It's definitely not Eastwood's greatest but even his more middling efforts are superior compared to Joe Bloggs average. Yes you can see the prestige coming a mile off but it's well acted and passes the time very nicely indeed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/27/25

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Jonathan N

Note: this contains a spoiler related to the ending, so please watch the movie first. Blood Work could definitely be a movie about Dirty Harry as an older man. He has health problems throughout the movie, which I guess is supposed to make him appear relatable to the oldies. My peeve, which I guess is equally true with all of his movies, is that "police work" essentially amounts to sort of asking some questions between frequent gun fights. The movie overall barely held my attention, with the twist at the end equally bland. "Buddy Noone" at first seemed like a forced cameo, but I guess Jeff Daniels has some serious range as an actor. That was a pleasant surprise. As a good guy, buddy, sidekick type, I found him to be quite boring and annoying. As a villain, he seemed pretty over the top, and reminded me of the Joker. I actually think some of the themes were similar to Batman graphic novel dialogues between Joker and Batman (with Joker saying they "need" each other and are somehow bound together). I think both Alan Moore and Sam Keith and probably a lot more artists have these themes in their Bat-books. Buddy saving Clint's character was an interesting twist, although they could have explained the "rare" blood type thing a bit more. And like, would that really have made the news that some retired cop got a heart transplant? Despite being far-fetched, it was mildly entertaining. If it didn't have Clint I would have given it 1.5 stars. Feel free to skip this one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/25

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Brad S. R

Not one of Eastwood's best, though it still retains a mark of quality.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

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James B

good clint eastwood film good detective movie good twists great performances by clint eastwood and jeff bridges

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/30/24

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Eye C

This was a nice surprise, a police thriller with a twist, good one Mr. Eastwood.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

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Clint Eastwood

Director

Clint Eastwood

Terry McCaleb

Jeff Daniels

Buddy Noone

Anjelica Huston

Dr. Bonnie Fox

Wanda De Jesus

Graciela Rivers

Tina Lifford

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Synopsis

FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) was hot on the trail of "The Code Killer" when a heart attack put him out of commission. A heart transplant later, Terry spends his time in the harbor on his houseboat -- that is, until he starts to investigate the facts surrounding his transplant. His donor was a murder victim, and the murder is still unsolved. With the help of his seaside neighbor, Buddy (Jeff Daniels), and over the protests of his doctor, Terry reopens the case.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland, Michael Connelly
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Malpaso Company
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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