Film Review: Point Blank

Point Blank is a remake of the 2010 French action film of the same name, which follows Paul (Anthony Mackie), an ER nurse who is unwittingly thrust into a dangerous situation that forces him to work with Abe (Frank Grillo), an injured murder suspect in order to save his pregnant wife, Taryn (Teyonah Parris), from some really bad guys. This new, English language version, which just hit Netflix, is curtesy of cult filmmaker, Joe Lynch, who is directing from a screenplay by Adam G. Simon.

I haven’t seen the original film, so I don’t know how much of the creative choices made here are lifted directly from that, but what is clear is that Lynch is riffing on the kind of rough and tumble buddy action movies he probably grew up watching and loving. It’s not an overt comedy, but there are touches where Lynch lets his kooky energy run wild. He mostly knows how to properly balance that kind of humor with the serious stakes that are at play, especially when some big reveals are made in the latter half.

The film clocks in at 86 minutes, and it keeps things just tight enough, if not quite at the same level of another recent short-but-sweet movie, Crawl, but it moves at a good clip, slows down when necessary, and gives the actors room to breathe, even in the midst of chaotic action. The soundtrack is a likely and eclectic mix of older tunes with artists ranging from Black Flag to Oran “Juice” Jones to Sigue Sigue Sputnik to ABC. It’s a good way to keep the audience consistently engaged, while also reminding them to not take things too seriously.

The action beats are slick and occasionally pack a mean punch. Joe Carnahan is one of the producers (along with Grillo), and he knows how to bring a gritty aesthetic to any project he’s involved with. Lynch knows his way around action already with films like Everly and Mayhem showing plenty of capability, and even though it seems like they’re working on a tight budget, there’s a fun vibe to everything that makes it enjoyable for most of the way through.

A lot of that comes from the actors. Mackie and Grillo are a solid duo. Both are often frustrated with one another, but push themselves along because they need to work together to set things right. Parris doesn’t have much to do aside from being the kidnapped wife that needs saving, which is unfortunate, but she still throws in some personality whenever she gets the chance. Marcia Gay Harden plays Lieutenant Lewis, who is investigating Abe, but seems to be more involved in whatever is going on that she lets on. Harden is always reliable, and it’s just fun to see her play around in a genre like this. Markice Moore makes a pretty big impression as Big D, a film savvy gangster that Abe owes money to, and he manages to keep the eccentricities of the character just grounded enough when he shows up in the final act whereas a lesser performer might’ve gone full blown parody.

It’s a rather straightforward action-thriller. There are many elements here you’ve seen plenty of times before, and the film doesn’t seem to be aiming for transcending these tropes as much as playing them straight with just a little bit of a wink. It’s not particularly substantial, and it doesn’t fully earn some of the emotional beats, even if the actors really do bring their all with the material. Which, I suppose, makes it good that the film doesn’t overstay its welcome. So, basically, it’s the perfect kind of Netflix movie.

Point Blank isn’t particularly great, but it’s a solid throwback with some enjoyable character beats and action sequences. Where the film lacks in substance, Joe Lynch brings plenty of style that keeps the momentum going until we finally hit the credits. Yes, it’s fairly predictable, but the pleasure of this genre largely don’t rely on plot points. As long as the central characters remained engaging, then it works, and for the most part, I was very engaged with Mackie and Grillo. It’s by no means required viewing, even for action fans, but it’s a perfectly functional and entertaining watch that doesn’t demand a whole lot from the viewer, and sometimes, on a boring summer day, a movie like that can do the trick.