Title: Point Blank
Release Date: July 19th, 2019
Studio: Netflix
Director: Joe Lynch
Release Format: Digital
Point Blank’s Movie Setting
One man is a simple ER nurse, the other an injured criminal and murder suspect put under his charge, in order to save the lives of his pregnant wife and unborn child. Against rival gangs as well as corrupted cops, this unlikely duo must find a way to survive together in a race against time that sets the fight of their very lives.
Point Blank is a remake of Fred Cavaye’s 2010 French action thriller of the same name but does the twist instead by being a strange love letter to classic ’80s and 90’s action flick where a team-up of unlikely heroes must work together to save the day. It starts with the character Abe (Frank Grillo) fleeing a crime scene, flash drive in hand to meet his little brother Mateo (Christian Cooke) who are trying to reach the meeting place as fast as possible. Both manage to see each other before Abe gets into an accident as a car hits him, sending him to the hospital while Mateo must flee the scene in terror.
Cut to the other main character of Paul (Anthony Mackie), who’s enjoying life with his very pregnant wife Taryn (Teyonah Parris). By sheer luck or coincidence, Paul gets to become Abe’s nurse who then gets assaulted and afterward gets his wife kidnapped. Time is now of the essence, and only these two can help each other stop the chaos and save the lives of their loved ones.
Camera, Action, and Swearing Like a Sailor
Three things that immediately shows itself to be the focus is the simple story with basic characters, exciting action sequences using cinematography that plays with the storytelling and a lot, no bars hold back childish thinking of ways hard-ass adults talk to each other to seem keen, type of swearing.
Looking back on it, there wasn’t more than a few single moments when some characters weren’t swearing in some way that throughout the rest of the movie; it almost seemed comical in the dry humor department as they said many F-bombs within every single sentence.
The biggest gripe that comes out clearly in Point Blank is the terrible act of it trying to make the viewer feel any form of emotion for the characters
The problem with this here is because of the story being played out so fast with so much action that when you finally get time to breathe, it is ruined by the way the characters talk and act. It makes the viewer see it happening on screen but don’t feel it when sad scenes are played out etc. There is still something in the movie that’s hard to look away from.
Maybe it’s the corny story or whatnot, but there is something which cannot be put to a word that is still captivating to look upon.
The Verdict
The movie is still a decent simple concept of a story that uses a lot of old-fashioned movie elements. The hero learns something about himself when things get tough, and he must protect that which he loves. The bad guy who isn’t that bad, who then becomes the ally of the hero while tensions are running high, and the real story as to why he was at the crime scene gets revealed to whom the actual bad guy is.
The movie does a good job at its action department but fails to earn the viewer’s emotions later when it hasn’t been appropriately developed, which then the action tries to build on that thin veneer of emotion. This makes you realize that there is no caring for these simple characters on the screen.
Joe Lynch’s Point Blank makes a hit and misses with its magnetic energy of action mixed with individual song choices. Leaning a little too much on being a corny action flick, it still gets enough right with how it handles itself throughout the 86 minutes it takes to watch it on Netflix.
A few small jokes land well, but most of the connections to the characters doesn’t stick well with the viewer. It still is a decent movie to watch on a Sunday evening when you got nothing else to do.
What are your thoughts on this movie? Did it have sitting at the edge of your seat as the action played out, or was there something else about it? Let us know down in the comments.
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