Jolt

I watched Jolt on a Tuesday night while my neighbor was power-washing his driveway at 9:00 PM, which felt like the perfect sonic backdrop for a movie about uncontrollable irritability. There’s something deeply relatable about Lindy, a woman whose neurological "glitch" makes her want to physically dismantle anyone who chews too loudly or breathes with too much enthusiasm. We’ve all been there, usually while standing in line at the DMV or navigating a self-checkout lane that won't stop insisting there’s an "unexpected item in the bagging area."

Directed by Tanya Wexler (who previously gave us the surprisingly charming Hysteria), Jolt is a neon-soaked, high-voltage B-movie that arrived in 2021 with the quiet thud of a streaming-era casualty. Despite a cast that includes Oscar nominees and seasoned character actors, it barely registered a blip at the box office, largely because it was designed to be consumed on Amazon Prime between scrolling sessions. It’s a quintessential "content" film—fast, loud, and destined to be forgotten by the time the next thumbnail catches your eye.

A High-Voltage Gimmick

The premise is pure high-concept fun. Kate Beckinsale stars as Lindy, a former bouncer who wears a custom-made electrode vest. When her "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" flares up, she hits a remote and gives herself a massive electric shock to reset her brain before she kills someone. It’s like a dog’s bark collar, but for a woman who could probably kill you with a cocktail umbrella.

Kate Beckinsale has spent much of her career in the Underworld latex, so she’s no stranger to looking cool while hitting people. Here, she trades the vampires for a blonde wig and a permanent scowl. She’s genuinely great at playing someone who is perpetually five seconds away from a total meltdown. When she finally meets a guy who doesn't trigger her rage—a sweet accountant played by Jai Courtney (giving his most likable performance to date)—the movie briefly threatens to become a rom-com. Then he gets murdered, and the "jolt" vest comes off.

The Aesthetic of the Streaming Era

Visually, Jolt is a product of its time. It’s filled with that specific "streaming neon" palette—lots of magentas, teals, and high-contrast lighting that looks great on a 4K OLED screen but feels a bit hollow in the daylight. The action choreography, handled by a team that clearly studied at the school of John Wick, is snappy but occasionally suffers from the frantic editing common in modern mid-budget thrillers. It’s essentially 'Crank' for the HR-department era.

The stunt work is solid, particularly a car chase involving a bright yellow McLaren that feels like it was filmed on the empty streets of a pandemic-era London. However, the film often leans on CGI to smooth over the rougher edges of its physical combat. There’s a weightlessness to some of the hits that keeps it from reaching the heights of something like Atomic Blonde. It’s a movie that values "the look" over the grit, which is fine for a 91-minute distraction, but it lacks the visceral impact of the classics it’s trying to emulate.

A Cast That Deserved More Screen Time

What keeps Jolt from being a total wash is the supporting cast. Stanley Tucci plays Lindy’s therapist/creator, Dr. Ivan Munchin, and he brings his usual effortless charisma to a role that consists mostly of looking concerned over Zoom or in a high-tech lab. Then you have Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox as the "odd couple" detectives chasing Lindy. Their banter is the highlight of the film, providing a much-needed grounded perspective to the cartoonish chaos.

Even David Bradley, whom most of us recognize as the grumpy Argus Filch from Harry Potter or the treacherous Walder Frey from Game of Thrones, shows up as a menacing arms dealer. It’s a stacked roster for a film that feels like it was written in a weekend. It is the cinematic equivalent of an energy drink that’s been sitting in a hot car—it’ll give you a buzz, but you might regret the aftertaste.

The film tries to engage with modern themes of female empowerment and the "reclaiming" of rage, but it doesn't have much to say beyond "isn't it cool when she hits that guy?" In an era of franchise dominance, Jolt was clearly an attempt to launch a new "Lindy-verse," ending with a mid-credits hook that screams, "Please give us a sequel." But in the overcrowded landscape of 2021, where every streaming service was desperate for its own Extraction or Old Guard, Jolt just didn't have enough juice to stay grounded in the public consciousness.

Ultimately, Jolt is a perfectly acceptable way to kill 90 minutes on a flight or a lazy Sunday. It’s a relic of the "straight-to-digital" pivot that defined the early 2020s—a film with a movie-star lead and a fun gimmick that simply got lost in the algorithm. It doesn't reinvent the action genre, but it’s self-aware enough to know that watching Kate Beckinsale throw a fluorescent light bulb at a bad guy's head is inherently entertaining. If you’re looking for a quick hit of adrenaline without any long-term commitment, this is your shock to the system.