‘Point Blank’ on Netflix: Nice little action thriller

Joe Lynch has made a nice little action thriller for Netflix. Called Point Blank, the story has two brothers who are criminals, a corrupt female cop, a male nurse who helps a criminal escape from the hospital and the nurse's heavily pregnant wife who has been kidnapped to make sure that her hubby doesn’t act smart. The plot, in short, has all the elements for a film of its kind.

Point Blank is a remake of Fred Cavaye’s À bout portant, a highly popular French action thriller made in 2010. Lynch’s effort doesn't quite match up to the original, but it is not a blundering disappointment either. The film is short and hence, not much time is wasted in developing superfluous plot points. The cast are appropriate, and Anthony Mackie as the nurse and Frank Grillo as the criminal who escapes with his assistance are particularly good in their respective roles.

Lynch, the director, hasn’t made a desperate attempt to make a film that looks around the stereotype. What he has done is choose a much-appreciated French original and remake it as a fast-paced thriller, which will entertain viewers who won’t have unusually high expectations from this Netflix offering.

The film starts dramatically, with a man jumping out of a window to escape from a crime scene. The man named Abe Guevara(Grillo) is running with a flash drive in his hand, and his brother Mateo is about to pick him up in his car. Before that happens, Abe is hit by a running car. Mateo is compelled to leave the scene, and his brother is taken to a hospital.

Abe’s nurse is Paul Booker (Mackie), whose wife Taryn is at home and pregnant. Mateo decides that the best way to get freedom for his brother is by using someone inside the hospital to do the dirty work for him. So, Paul has to do the job – even if that means that Taryn has to be kidnapped.

If you wish to watch the film, you won’t wish to know too much about the story. What must be said, however, is that Paul’s author-backed character is a well-written one. As the film progresses, Paul gains mental strength that helps him deal with unexpected adversities. Mateo’s compassion while dealing with Taryn is both surprising and unrealistic. But then, the latter is pregnant, which explains why he is shown as gentle and kind. That said, the kidnapping of a pregnant woman and the problems she has to experience might have been easily substituted in the script with more palatable and dignified alternatives.

Point Blank could have also benefitted from a far better (read, exciting) climax. The ending is rather disappointing, more so because the story moves at breakneck speed until the last few minutes. When the pace slows down, the film’s throbbing energy disappears all of a sudden.

If you dig action flicks and can afford a break for 86 minutes, however, take a chance with Point Blank. Don’t worry. You won’t want to shoot yourself after the film is over.