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Point Blank (2011)

Director: Fred Cavayé

Time Out rating

Average user rating

5 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Even though Fred Cavayé (‘Anything for Her’) has carved out a niche for himself as a dependable writer and director of pulpy, against-the-clock, damsel-in-distress action thrillers, ‘Point Blank’ is what we’d now have to term a ‘Liam Neeson Movie’. That is, it’s a steely genre caper, like ‘Taken’ or ‘Unknown’, with a dash of brutal violence, a likable everyman protagonist who gets tangled in a criminal conspiracy and a vision of continental Europe as a hellish outland where, to quote Al Pacino in ‘Heat’, ‘You can get killed walkin’ your doggie!’

Neeson, alas, isn’t in this film, but the experience of watching it evokes visions of the inevitable US refit (‘Anything for Her’ was remade by Paul Haggis as ‘The Next Three Days’). Instead, we have Gilles Lellouche (pictured) as Samuel, a brawny but benevolent trainee nurse whose wife is on the cusp of dropping a sprog. In a standard wrong time/wrong place set-up, Samuel is coerced into smuggling Roschdy Zem’s wounded crim out of hospital, only to be roped into carrying out more depraved deeds when he finds out his wife has been taken hostage.

It’s hardly what you’d call high art, but Cavayé knows how to push buttons when it comes to straight-up, palm-sweating spectacle. It’s dumb and manipulative, such as the scene in which the bad guys almost dispose of the pregnant spouse by tossing her out of a window. But it’s also brisk and unpretentious, with no hint that we’re meant to take anything more away from this than a cheap but effective thrill.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 2129: June 9 - 15, 2011

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User reviews of this film

ghidera said...

Posted on Dec 04 2011 17:48 This is the 1967 John Boorman masterpiece in the BFI Southbank listings. Not this pale namesake.

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Jan said...

Posted on Jul 31 2011 01:38 A good, old-fashioned, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller. I enjoyed it.

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Robert Thornton said...

Posted on Jul 26 2011 22:01 Yes it's a watchable typically French thriller with the police in typical "Spiral" brutal mode.

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Mike said...

Posted on Jun 19 2011 21:37 I agree with Archgate - Jenkins’s review is sloppy - and talks needlessly of what this movie clearly isn’t. Thankfully Liam Neeson isn’t in this film. Jenkins was also reckless with his plot spoiler.
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Point Blank is a well constructed thriller, with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat for at least 50% of the running time. Gilles Lellouche, who plays the lead, is a fine and very convincing actor, and likewise Roschdy Zem, who plays one of the key baddies. The film has a very quick pace, so I’d advise going to the loo before the movie starts, as you’ll miss a lot if you decide to nip out once it’s started. Not quite a four star movie, but certainly three stars - let’s call it 7/10.

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Jun 10 2011 22:48 I am not sure what Mr Jenkins will spend his severance pay on ... but I do know that his review is lazy. Why he is prattling on about Liam Neeson and Al Pacino is beyond me. This type of film attracts good audiences in it's own right. Yes it's French ... it's pretty good entertainment for an evening out at the flicks.

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