Combining action with comedy is a good idea when the plot is good enough. But Day Shift isn't just an action comedy; it's also full of vampire hunting and a little touch of the horror genre, which gives this film a nice touch.
But the film stays away from going too deep into the plot. Instead, it includes many action sequences, which was pretty obvious as the debutant director JJ Perry had his career as a stuntman.
Jamie Foxx stars as Bud Jablonski, who works as an undercover vampire hunter in the guise of a pool cleaner in California. In this paranormal universe, vampires exist and try to integrate into human society and feed on them. They don't hibernate but rather thrive during the day.
The logic behind it is absurd; tons of sunscreen. The leader of the vampires, Audrey, is the primary antagonist who seeks to dominate humans with vampires in a hilariously American capitalistic way— through a predatory real estate business.
American capitalism has its claws wide open in this paranormal world too. Bud earns a little in his profession as a vampire hunter, but he has to make enough money to pay for his daughter's school fees and stop his ex-wife from separating.
So he has to apologise on his way to get back into the vampire hunters' union with the help of his old friend Big J (played by Snoop Dogg).
He manages to work for the union as a day shift hunter while being observed in action by Seth, a union pencil-pusher, with whom he shares a buddy cop relationship later on.
Day Shift doesn't disappoint in action scenarios; plenty of calculated, flashy fights against vampire packs.
The film starts with a fight inside a small house and ends with a bloody John Wick-esque fight between vampire hunters and vampire hordes led by Audrey. The old ways of killing vampires with silver and wooden stakes are replaced with them being in ammunition used in modern weapons.
Though Snoop Dogg has few appearances in most of the film, he shines in the last scenario, where he partners up with Bud as the famed swashbuckling vampire hunter Big J.
Evaluating the action sequences, Day Shift gets an excellent mark. But in the story-building department, this movie fails. The plot suffered as a result of Director Perry's lack of effort. Even though the plot is full of slapstick humour and intense fights, the story is incoherent and full of absurd reasoning. The vampire-hunting action comedy is entertaining to watch, but as it isn't something unique, Day Shift becomes just another run-and-gun action movie.
iftekhar.tne@gmail.com