Still best-known for 1980s hits like Platoon and Major League, Tom Berenger’s career largely faltered when he moved to the 1990s. Outside of an occasional A-list project like 2010’s Inception, Berenger mainly finds himself in low-budget direct-to-video fare like Sniper: Assassin’s End.

That’s where we find Berenger for 2020’s Blood and Money, though at least this project allows the actor to take the lead role. Here Berenger plays Jim Reed, a retired military veteran.

On a hunting trip in northern Maine, Jim discovers a woman on the brink of death. She dies right after Jim locates her, and he finds a duffel bag of cash near her.

Inevitably, the perpetrators of that crime come in search of their money. This sets up a cat and mouse battle between Jim and the criminals.

As I relate more often than I’d like to admit, good movies rely more on execution than anything else. A film with a well-worn plot can easily top one with greater originality if those involved bring skill and verve to the proceedings.

Thus even though Blood comes with a plot that screams “formulaic”, it doesn’t seem doomed to failure. In the right hands, this kind of battle for survival could work.

Unfortunately, Blood seems utterly determined to squander whatever potential positives it might boast, at least partly due to a narrative that proceeds at a snail’s pace. Based on my synopsis, one might anticipate that Jim locates the woman and cash quickly.

One would anticipate incorrectly. Jim doesn’t find the woman until about half an hour into this 89-minute affair, and the criminals don’t appear until almost halfway into the tale.

Blood uses that opening half-hour or so set up Jim and the circumstances, but it doesn’t utilize that time well. The information packed into that 30 minutes doesn’t need nearly that long to develop, as a better-made film could relate the material in a more efficient manner.

As such, Blood feels slow and bloated from the start, and it doesn’t really improve even when it should become more dynamic. Like I mentioned, it takes almost 15 minutes after Jim first discovers the woman for the movie to involve the criminals.

Blood attempts some tension here, mainly because of Jim’s reaction to these events. Jim heads back to town and tries to avoid the issue entirely for reasons that don’t seem clear.

I guess Jim behaves as he does because he believes he accidentally shot the woman, but again, the film fails to make this obvious. This seems like the only logical explanation for Jim’s panicked behavior – and it still doesn’t seem sensible.

Granted, I can understand that if you shoot someone by accident, you’d regret it. Given the circumstances, the authorities would clearly recognize the event as uninintentional, so Jim’s worried attempts to hide his discovery seems like a phony movie choice more than something that’d fit real life.

Matters don’t improve from there, as Jim’s behavior continues to perplex – with more fatal repercussions. To avoid spoilers, I won’t get into these, but Jim acts in ways that persistently make matters worse, all just so the movie finds awkward ways to churn out action scenes.

Throw in more than a little ham-fisted exposition and Blood offers a poorly told tale, one that never clicks into any kind of groove. This seems like a shame, as it comes with some potential positives.

Jim offers an intriguing take on this kind of character. Normally a movie such as this would make its lead an ultra-confident aging badass who methodically takes down his foes.

Instead, Jim is an apparently terminally ill recovering alcoholic still haunted by the death of his daughter in a car crash. A loner with a mix of personal issues, he seems anxious and uncertain as he deals with events.

On the surface, that should make Jim a compelling character, but the underwritten script leaves him with little room to really develop. Berenger does his best with the role and submerges any macho instincts along the way, but he can’t overcome the inherent flaws from the screenplay.

All of this feels like a shame, as Blood could give us a good twist on the genre. Instead, it becomes a slow, dull journey to nowhere.

Blood and Money appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie offered a largely quality presentation.

For the most part, sharpness worked well. Some softness occasionally hit wide elements and interiors, but the majority of the movie boasted fairly accurate delineation.

No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I witnessed no instances of edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to mar the proceedings.

In the chilly winter climate, Blood went with a white-inflected teal much of the time, though occasional instances of other hues like amber materialized as well. While these didn’t dazzle, they seemed suitable for the design choices.

Blacks seemed dense and deep, while shadows offered appropriate smoothness and clarity. Outside of the minor soft scenes, the image worked well.

In addition, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack suited the story. Given the middle of nowhere setting, the mix mostly emphasizes general atmosphere and music.

Those components work fine, and the soundscape broadens when necessary. Most of those moments stem from occasional gunfire, so don’t expect a lot of theatrics, but the soundfield feels appropriate for the narrative.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that appeared natural and concise. The fairly understated score came across with nice clarity and range.

Effects added good impact and accuracy, and I heard no distortion or other issues related to those elements. Though not stunning, the soundtrack felt appropriate for the movie.

One extra appears here: a featurette called Surviving Blood and Money. It runs five minutes, 59 seconds and offers notes from writer/director John Barr, stunt coordinator Frosty Silva, producer Suza Horvatt, stunt double Denney Pierce, and actors Tom Berenger and Brian Duffy.

“Surviving” provides a look at story/characters, locations, cast and performances. A few minor insights emerge, but most of the show feels superficial.

The disc opens with ads for Cold Blood and Crown Vic. No trailer for Blood appears here.

As a thriller, Blood and Money lacks urgency or drama. It wastes lots of its brief running time with inconsequential material and never develops into the exciting tale it desires to present. The Blu-ray comes with pretty good picture and audio but it lacks substantial supplements. Expect a sluggish and dull experience here.