Blink Twice Gives Channing Tatum His Best Serious Role 

I went to see Blink Twice with zero expectations. I wanted to go to the theater, and this film happened to be playing at the right time for my schedule. I had no idea what was in store for me as I don’t typically love Channing Tatum in serious roles, and this film is the writing and directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz. 

Blink Twice opens with the focus on our main character, Frida (Naomi Ackie), sitting on the toilet scrolling through her phone. She pulls up an article about billionaire Slater King (Tatum) and watches a video of Slater apologizing for some unknown slights from his past exploits and talking about how far he’s come on his “healing journey.”

He’s a much better person now, he promises us, with a sly smile and a sulky glance at the camera. 

Frida gets off the toilet and heads off to work as a server with her roommate, Jess (Alia Shawkat), at an event where Slater will be speaking. There, Frida finds a way to thoroughly intrigue him.

He even introduces her to his therapist, Rich (Kyle MacLachlan). Frida shakes Rich’s hand and jokingly says, “Blink twice if I’m in danger!” Of course, Frida and Jess accept when Slater invites them to party on his island with his entourage, which includes Christian Slater and Haley Joel Osment. 

Up to this point, Slater seems like the classic billionaire manchild. He’s forever sucking on his vape pen, encouraging everyone to have a great time, and cuddling up to Frida. It is in these scenes where I found Tatum to be at his best. He plays the playboy like the role was made for him — and maybe it was.

Things take a dark and surprisingly violent turn quickly in Blink Twice, and you almost have to blink twice to catch up. Indeed, there’s a trigger warning at the beginning of the film so audiences know about a particularly explicit sexual assault scene.

I spent the last half of the film waiting for the usual wrap-up of films like these — the good guys lose and the bad guys win and you hope you never get caught on this island. 

Kravitz, however, takes that trope and flips it on its head in the most interesting and alarming ways. And again Tatum comes through as a genuine psychopath. In one particular scene he loses his calm entirely, and I was just waiting for him to start slapping himself in the head.

There really is no other role he’s had to compare this one to. He’s either playing a goofball, like in 21 Jump Street, or taking himself too seriously, like in Fly Me to the Moon or Magic Mike. 

GFR SCORE

I also have to send a solid shoutout to Adria Arjona who plays one of the women on the island and continues to take on increasingly interesting supporting roles in big films. Ultimately, Rotten Tomatoes has this film at 77 percent positive reviews from critics, and it’s already made $14 million at the box office against a $20 million budget. Blink Twice is a solid start for Kravitz, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from her.