POINT BLANK: A Disposable Remake That Offers No Thrills

When brought up in any serious film discussion, the title of Point Blank typically refers to John Boorman’s 1967 masterpiece, a barnstormer of a tough guy cum arthouse picture, featuring an indomitable lead performance from Lee Marvin. It was a mighty fine piece of work (arguably Boorman’s greatest effort) and has since cast a long shadow over the crime-thriller genre. It would be a fool’s errand for any subsequent filmmaker to even think about granting one of their own films with the same title.

This did not seem to deter Fred Cavayé, whose 2010 French thriller was released in the U.S. under the English title Point Blank. Wisely, the film bore no resemblance to the Boorman production other than its shared title, with the film itself much more akin to the Taken series, which involves a man trying to find his kidnapped wife. The wrinkle here is that our hero is just an Average Joe, and without a particular set of skills to rely on, he ultimately must team up with a hardened criminal to delve into a seedy underworld and rescue his loved one. It was an interesting twist on a familiar tale, offering a slick, effective piece of escapist entertainment that evaporated as soon as you left the cinema.

Nearly a decade later, Hollywood (or rather, Netflix) has finally smelled the blood in the water, with director Joe Lynch (Everly, Mayhem) stepping in to offer his own iteration of Cavayé’s source material. While Lynch offers bigger star power in his leading roles, the result is almost an entirely wasted effort, offering minimal thrills and dismal storytelling to a tone-deaf feature. The remake of Point Blank has the ingredients for success, but the film never delivers, consistently fizzling out instead of coming to a boil.

Muscle Men at Work

A doting husband and expecting father, ER nurse Paul Booker (Anthony Mackie) clocks in for the evening to take care of his first patient, an unconscious criminal named Abe Guevara (Frank Grillo). Little does Paul know, Abe was involved in the murder of an assistant district attorney earlier that evening, making off with sensitive data on a thumb drive before getting into a car accident that landed him in the ER. Sensing an opportunity to spring his brother from a life behind bars, Abe’s brother Mateo (Christian Cooke) kidnaps Paul’s heavily pregnant wife, Taryn (Teyonah Parris), holding her hostage until Paul can guarantee Abe’s safe extraction.

Matters are complicated with the involvement of law enforcement, including Lieutenant Regina Lewis (a woefully miscast Marcia Gay Harden), who may or may not know more than she’s letting on about Abe’s situation. Narrowly evading capture, Paul manages to bust Abe out of the hospital, and must keep administering his patient adrenaline in order to keep him from collapsing. Meanwhile, Abe is starting to feel heat from Big D (Markice Moore), a gangster to whom he owes heavily.

Credit where credit is due: Lynch attempts to kick things off with a bang, detailing the tail-end of Abe’s heist-turned-murder, with the career felon diving out the window of a second story building and evading a barrage of gunfire, all in a single, unbroken take. The moves are executed cleanly and swiftly, promising something much greater than what the film can ultimately deliver.

It’s in this opening scene that Lynch also introduces one of his most egregious stylistic choices: needle drops. Lots and lots of needle drops. Just when you think the material couldn’t reek of anymore feeble attempts to feel badass, think again! Here’s a jolt of Black Flag for you. This has to be the most annoying soundtrack since Suicide Squad.

Reheated Leftovers

While the premise of Point Blank isn’t exactly rocket science, it’s difficult to find anything to praise about Adam G. Simon’s adapted screenplay, who has opted to trade wit for F-bombs. Lots and lots of F-bombs. Simon adheres incredibly close to Cavayé’s original film, matching the plot beat for beat. Perhaps the worst offense is the addition of Big D, played with utmost irritation by Moore, depicted here as a movie-loving gangster with a knack for texting film quotes as threats to his underlings (in one asinine scene, he and his gang watch and celebrate William Friedkin’s Sorcerer. Seriously).

The real draw is the pairing of Grillo and Mackie, teaming up once again after years of wearing spandex together. Grillo lends his typical tough guy, B-movie gravitas to the role, but even he doesn’t get much to do in the grand scheme of things, offering a lone highlight in which he exchanges fisticuffs with a thug in the middle of an active car wash, dodging the industrial-sized squeegees while exchanging body blows. Point Blank sure could’ve used a few more inventive sequences like this one.

As for Mackie, he’s easily the best thing about the movie, and while his impressive physique does not even begin to convincingly sell the “everyman” nature of his character, he still performs the role admirably, never once excelling in the realm of violence, reacting credibly to the horrifying world around him.

Point Blank: Conclusion

Point Blank eventually hobbles to a lame conclusion, featuring a staged car accident, an inopportune childbirth, and incriminating footage from a GoPro camera. There’s even some unnecessary discomfort in seeing a loaded gun pointed at Taryn’s pregnant belly (an image Lynch returns to several times, in fact). The entire conflict driving the film is literally resolved within 30 seconds, adding to the overall disappointment of the film. While some viewers could argue for this remake as passable entertainment, even at 80 minutes, your time is best spent elsewhere.

What did you think? Does Point Blank have any value as a remake? Let us know in the comments below!

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