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REVIEW: Point Blank
Starring: Frank Grillo, Anthony Mackie,Marcia Gay Harden, Christian Cooke, Teyonah Parris and Markice Moore
Directed By: Joe Lynch
Official Synopsis: “When his pregnant wife is kidnapped and held as collateral, Paul, an ER nurse, must team with the badly injured career criminal and murder suspect under his charge in order to save the lives of his wife and unborn child. Pitted against rival gangs and a deadly ring of corrupt cops, the unlikely duo find a way to survive together in the fight of their lives. A gritty, action-packed thriller starring Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo.”
THE REVIEW: Frank Grillo has always been one of my favorite actors and he is one of those rare individuals who elevates any film that he is in. From his epic role in the TV series Kingdon to his starring role in the equally epic Sci-Fi film Beyond Skyline, Grillo always brings that certain gravitas that is welcomed. It also bares saying that he is one of the hardest working actors in the industry and it seems like I’m posting a trailer or some sort of news about him every other day.
With this, we have the Netflix world premiere movie Point Blank where Grillo teams up with fellow MCU alum Anthony Mackie for a stripped down, bare bones action throwback film that would most definitely be shown on the big screen if this were the 80’s and 90’s. It is actually a remake of another film which I never saw. Sadly though we live in a world where lower budgeted action films that deliver the goods like this one are now reduced to premiering on streaming services. Aside from that, Grillo and Mackie make an awesome buddy actio duo in a film that is short on running time but high on thrills.
Grillo stars as Abe, a self proclaimed street mercenary who is a bad guy but one with a heart as he and his brother Mateo, played by Cooke, get in way over their heads from the get go. The film opens with a literal bang as gunshots ring out and Abe comes crashing through a second floor window onto the streets where he is being chased by some masked gunmen.
Turns out, Abe was tasked with trying to acquire a very important flash drive so he can make a deal to keep his brother out of prison but things go awry and Abe is seriously injured. Not knowing what to do, Mateo forces male nurse Paul (Mackie) to break Abe out of a hospital where he was brought and Mateo kidnaps Paul’s very pregnant wife Taryn to ensure that he does the deed.
What transpires is a race against time as Abe and Paul form the unlikliest of duos to save Paul’s wife and get the flashdrive to the right people while being chased by some very crooked cops in the process.
Point Blank knows exactly what kind of film it wants to be and it is evident from the get go and with a running time of 86 minutes, it is never short on thrills and witty banter as Grillo and Mackie share great on screen chemistry and shoot wonderful and zingy one liners back and forth at each other. This is the film’s true strength and the film works because of these two stars. It definitely has the feel of Tango And Cash or any other buddy action film that has come out.
The supporting cast is more than accomodating too with Marcia Gay Harden bringing the seriousness with her portrayal of Lieutenant Lewis who is hot on the trail of our infamous team. One of the truly great performances from the film has to be from Markice Moore who plays Big D, a savy street criminal who is also after Abe and Paul. Moore steels evey scene that he is ni and brings the comic factor up a gret deal.
Like I said earlier, the movie is never dull and from the very beginning, the action starts rolling and the audience never really gets a chance to catch their breaths. Grillo and Mackie get into constant danger at every turn and even thought the film sort of suffers from a weak third act, it will still please genre fans who are looking for a true throwback film. The highlight for me was a great scene of fisticuffs between Abe and a crooked cop that takes place in a car wash. The soundtack in it even resonates 80’s with some classic tunes from that era.
Grillo is great at playing anti-heroes and Abe is no exception while Mackie brings the usual charm to his role of Paul. Grillo excels at playing sympathetic characters while at the same time can turn on the carnage as a truly bad individual. Here, he plays both but in the end, we all know that he has a soft spot. The two work off each other with flair and here’s hoping that we wil see them team up again in the future.
It also should be said that Point Blank is a release from Grillo and director Joe Carnahan’s War Party production banner so I was immediately curious to see how the film would be given that the two have promised to develop cutting edge action enetertainment like a certain remake of an iconic action hit starring Iko Uwais. While this film isn’t cutting edge, it still delivers the goods and even though it’s nothing new, it doesn’t matter because Grillo and Mackie make it their own.
To sum it all up, Point Blank won’t win any awards but it sure is a decent first entry in the War Party banner. If you’re looking for some good ‘ol fashioned 80’s throwback glee then look no further as the film delivers what it set out to do and that’s entertain. Grillo and Mackie are in top form and they are the reason the movie works.
VERDICT: 3.5 Out Of 5 Stars
ACTION-FLIX APPROVED!
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