Review: Point Blank

Based on the 2010 French action thriller, À bout portant, Point Blank (in no way to be confused with the 1967 John Boorman classic) is a mash-up of a race-against-the-clock chase flick and buddy movie. Though effective in parts, this is an instantly forgettable film that has B-movie aspirations but is barely executed to D-movie standards.

It starts off promisingly enough, opening with Frank Grillo's Abe falling out of a window of a house from which gunshots have been heard. Armed with a flash drive and in communication with his younger brother Mateo (Christian Cooke) to pick him up, he's chased on foot by a couple of masked men. Just as he and Mateo are about to make contact, Abe is hit by a car, forcing Mateo to drive past as cop cars come rushing to the scene. Taken to the hospital, he finds himself under the care of ER nurse, Paul Booker (Anthony Mackie), who has a heavily pregnant wife Taryn (Teyonah Parris) at home.

Abe and Mateo are in debt to feared gangster Big D (Markice Moore), who turns out to be more amusing than his moniker would suggest, so Mateo hatches a ridiculous plan to break Abe out of the hospital. Breaking into Paul's house, he knocks out Paul and kidnaps Taryn, promising to let her go if Paul can deliver Abe to him. Naturally, complications ensue as Paul realises there's a conspiracy afoot as he races to save his wife.

The beauty of any action film lies in its simplicity but, unlike films like Die Hard, Speed or John Wick, Point Blank is nothing but a series of often clumsily stitched action scenes. There's no wit or depth of characterisation. The film feels overly protracted despite its 86-minute running time, and there's a consistent shoddiness that makes whatever satisfaction one feels curdle. Grillo and Mackie are two performers that are not lacking in charisma, and yet they're neutralised by the stubbornly mediocre script and Joe Lynch's hit-and-miss direction.

Point Blank

Directed by: Joe Lynch

Written by: Adam G. Simon; based on À bout portant by Fred Cavayé

Starring: Frank Grillo, Anthony Mackie, Marcia Gay Harden, Teyonah Parris, Boris McGiver, Christian Cooke, Markice Moore