Jolt promises to pump up viewers' adrenaline when it arrives on Amazon Prime on July 23. The action-thriller stars Underworld's Kate Beckinsale as a woman being treated for her hair-trigger anger issues. Said treatment is thrown off course when she meets the potential love of her life, Justin (Jai Courtney, The Suicide Squad), only to have him taken from her the very next day. From there, a vengeance-fueled mission ensues that makes her realize she's more of a hero than she ever thought possible.
Beckinsale spoke to Screen Rant about how it felt to step into Lindy's skin, the ways shooting fight scenes for a more everyday hero differed, and what she hopes to bring to the action-comedy genre in general.
Screen Rant: I connect to Lindy just by the fact that women have to withhold their anger and repress their negative feelings. On what other level do you relate to her?
Kate Beckinsale: It was largely that I loved the fact that - I mean, I think it's a movie that men will definitely enjoy, but - there's something very wish-fulfillment about it. Even though she's not happy about having no inhibitions, it is kind of great to see somebody having a very raw response to being catcalled or to somebody taking up space next to them in the subway. With all of that stuff that we deal with constantly, she just doesn't hold back. And I definitely identify with the impulse. I just, on the whole, don't give into it as much.
She's loyal. She's trying to be better. There's things about herself she doesn't like. I think she's struggling with this impulse control thing, and I've always kind of tended towards being more anxious and angry. That's something that you're always negotiating, trying to be less like that. I liked that.
There are all these men in her life, who in varying degrees want to fix her or help her - whether or not they are sincere in those intentions. How do you as Lindy maneuver those different relationships?
Kate Beckinsale: On the one hand, I wish Stanley Tucci was my therapist because I think that would solve a lot for me. But I think one of the things I like about the movie is that she does have, with the men in the movie, some betrayals there. But there's also some decency and some real connection.
I think that's just like life. There's some good eggs and bad eggs, and you've got to figure out who's who.
You're already an action star as it is, but there are some really cool sequences here. How did you prepare for them? Did you work with stunt doubles, or did you do some on your own?
Kate Beckinsale: The funny thing was that I think we had a little bit less time for training because I was here and a lot of the crew were in Bulgaria before we started shooting in London. We didn't have a really, really long training period. So a lot of the time, we'd get there and they'd show the fight choreography and then I'd be like, "Oh, I don't know. Can we change it a bit?" And they were really open to that.
Because I didn't want her to be like a superhero. I wanted her to be somebody who's very proficient, but she's still a human being. And that's different from what I've done before. I've not even been a human, so that was different for me. But it was lovely to be able to be a real part of that and come up with fun, creative, different stuff that she could do.
The ending of the movie leaves open the possibility of more Lindy adventures. Is that something you'd be on board for?
Kate Beckinsale: I actually would like to see more. I do think there's a slightly open gap for sassy, funny, irreverent, flawed female action. I love the fact that there's way more action heroines in the space now, but I do think that we just need to nudge up our action-comedy closure. I think it's great that she's funny, and I like that she talks back. I like seeing women that talk back, so I'm ready. I would do another.
Next: Kate Beckinsale's 10 Best Films, According To IMDb
Jolt premieres July 23 on Amazon Prime Video.
Key Release Dates
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Jolt
Release Date:2021-07-23
