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film review

Danny Trejo, Amaury Nolasco and Gina Carano in In the BloodFrancisco Roman

Like the toughest action heroes, Gina Carano looks uncomfortable doing anything short of kicking ass.

Crammed into a wedding dress, the mixed-martial-arts pinup is as conspicuously awkward as Schwarzenegger's buttoned-down alter ego in True Lies. But when her strength uncoils, like spring snakes bounding from novelty peanut brittle, Carano's a force – all kicks, chokeholds, and grappling takedowns. In the Blood sees the Haywire star slotted into a rote revenge plot, avenging the death of her wealthy hubby (Cam Gigandet).

It's overlong, overplotted and crowded with a cast of "hey-it's-that-guy!" C-listers (Luis Guzman, Danny Trejo), but the closed-quarters combat crackles with bone-shattering believability. And that's really all that matters.

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