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Logic Falls Victim in ‘Blood Crime’

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By CAROLYN PATRICIA SCOTT TIMES STAFF WRITER

It starts out on a riff from the John Lee Hooker song “Boom Boom.” And tonight’s “Blood Crime” (8 p.m., USA) could use the second line from that blues classic for its tag line: “Gonna shoot you right down!”Yes, this first of USA Network’s Crime Fridays original movie offerings has plenty of shooting and bad guys; unfortunately, it’s the plot that falls dead{mdash}the victim of a criminal lack of common sense.The film starts off well enough with the de rigueur shootout. Then it jumps{mdash}who knows why?{mdash}to lead Daniel Pruitt (Johnathon Schaech, from “That Thing You Do,” “Houdini”) leaving the force, hitting the road with his wife (Elizabeth Lackey) and aiming for the simple life. First stop: a seedy joint where the ex-detective chats up the bartender within earshot of the local lowlifes: “We’re camping out.” Not real smart.But the contrivances get worse: The couple makes camp in the woods but has no provisions, so when it’s good and dark, Pruitt’s got to make a run to the quickie mart for food. Meanwhile, back at the campsite, the wife is attacked; the perpetrator gets away. Pruitt finally returns and they head for the hospital. On the way, the hysterical wife sees her attacker{mdash}”It’s him! It’s him!”{mdash}and Pruitt pistol-whips the man. Then, upon their arrival in the emergency room, the wife takes one look at an orderly and screams: “It’s him! It’s him!” The possible case of mistaken identity seems promising{mdash}particularly when the first alleged attacker is wheeled into the same emergency room, DOA{mdash}but what sappy plotting doesn’t kill, James Caan finishes off with a deadening performance as the local sheriff.

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