Netflix’s ‘Point Blank’ is a remake of the 2010-released French film À bout portant but has nothing noticeable to call it a gritty action-thriller. Marvel movie stars Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo play key roles in this film, along-side Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden.
The plotline of the films looks simple and apt for an action thriller. ‘Point Blank’ follows a nurse who teams up with a criminal to take on a group of crooked cops. Sounds interesting?
Well, initially to those who have not watched the French original, this is an interesting plot, but it seems Netflix is not focusing much on the quality of content. There are a lot many similar movies now available for streaming on multiple platforms.
Here is the trailer of Netflix’s “Point Blank.”
As far as the story goes, we meet ER nurse Paul (Anthony Mackie) who has a pregnant wife. As an unexpected blow to his happy family, he gets to oversee a patient named Abe (Frank Grillo) – a criminal suffering a gunshot wound, who got hit by a vehicle while fleeing a crime scene.
Unfortunately, Paul finds himself pushed into the complicated case when Abe’s younger brother kidnaps Paul’s wife Taryn (Teyonah Parris) and forces Paul to work for him in bringing Abe out of the hospital, away from the eyes of the cops.
What happens later is a cat-and-mouse game, as we watch literally everything from the shootout, car chase scenes, corrupt cops, etc. However, the story lacks emotional elements and the script is not clear enough to make it either a fun-filled action flick or an outright action thriller.
Director Joe Lynch could not utilize his two most prolific actors in the cast. Frank Grillo was much better in the 2017 Netflix driving thriller Wheelman. And Anthony Mackie is a great actor, but the script of the film has nothing for him to act on. There is also not much for Teyonah Parris and Christian Cooke (played the role of Grillo’s brother).
Netflix’s effort to stream similar kinds of movies does not really add value to the content library. Leave aside a compelling story, ‘Point Blank’ doesn’t have an effort towards character development. We don’t see anything organic, rather scenes stitched together snappishly.
A film cannot really rely only on actors; it should have some substance in terms of story. To be honest, if you love all kinds of action movies, particularly something for a weekend afternoon-watch this might be a good one. Otherwise, we would not suggest you spend 80 minutes just to watch the chemistry between the actors on the screen.
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 finds a way to survive together in the fight of their lives.
— Netflix
One thought on “Netflix’s ‘Point Blank’ (2019) – A Pointless Remake”