Samuel Pierret (Gilles Lellouche) is a nurse's aide in Paris with an expecting wife, Nadia (Elena Anaya). When Samuel saves a patient, a safecracker named Hugo Sartet (Roschdy Zem), from being murdered during his shift, Nadia is soon kidnapped and Samuel is left a phone with a caller on the other end forcing him to help Hugo escape the hospital. Samuel then becomes a fugitive with Hugo, with the two sharing an uneasy alliance as they find themselves in a plot of corrupt cops and a ticking clock.
Point Blank marks the second film from director Fred Cavaye following his 2008 film Anything for Her. Much like Anything for Her, Cavaye wanted to engage the audience on the same level of an "ordinary guy" by his words who's immediately spurred to action. Point Blank is an engaging ride from start to finish, even if some of the stretches in the final act test believability.
Gilles Lellouche is really good as Samuel Pierrey making for a solid "everyman" protagonist who's only fault is being at the wrong place at the wrong time. When we're introduced to him and his wife Nadia as played by Elena Anaya, director Cavaye does a solid job of establishing believable chemistry between the two and making them feel like a believable couple. When Samuel is forced into the plot proper of his wife being kidnapped and forced to aid in the escape of Roschdy Zem's Hugo, the movie sets up a great dynamic with Zem as a more hardened character counterbalanced by Lellouche as a man driven by desperation. The villains are also quite enjoyably hateful, with Gérard Lanvin in particular oozing contemptibility and hate in a fantastic villain performance. The final act wherein Hugo arranges for chaos at a police station admittedly stretches believability especially with how many moving pieces are required for the plan to work, but the movie is so fast paced and captures that feeling of desperation that it's easy to forgive such a strained plot point.
Point Blank as an action experience is really well done. With a sense of grit to how the city is photographed, as well as a real sense of weight and impact to the action scenes, Cavaye manages to make a pulse pounding action-thriller that captures all the promised excitement of its premise while maintaining the grounding element that these are ordinary people in an extraordinary situation and doesn't make them into "plot armored" action heroes. While Lellouche does do some outlandish stunts, the movie does well to make sure the fit within the context of desperate "last resorts" and we still feel like there's risk involved in these actions.
Point Blank isn't a particularly complicated film, but it is an exhilarating film that uses its simple premise for maximum effect. The movie does strain credibility in its third act with a lot of moving parts, but the brisk running time and desperate stakes keep us engaged to the end credits.
Point Blank marks the second film from director Fred Cavaye following his 2008 film Anything for Her. Much like Anything for Her, Cavaye wanted to engage the audience on the same level of an "ordinary guy" by his words who's immediately spurred to action. Point Blank is an engaging ride from start to finish, even if some of the stretches in the final act test believability.
Gilles Lellouche is really good as Samuel Pierrey making for a solid "everyman" protagonist who's only fault is being at the wrong place at the wrong time. When we're introduced to him and his wife Nadia as played by Elena Anaya, director Cavaye does a solid job of establishing believable chemistry between the two and making them feel like a believable couple. When Samuel is forced into the plot proper of his wife being kidnapped and forced to aid in the escape of Roschdy Zem's Hugo, the movie sets up a great dynamic with Zem as a more hardened character counterbalanced by Lellouche as a man driven by desperation. The villains are also quite enjoyably hateful, with Gérard Lanvin in particular oozing contemptibility and hate in a fantastic villain performance. The final act wherein Hugo arranges for chaos at a police station admittedly stretches believability especially with how many moving pieces are required for the plan to work, but the movie is so fast paced and captures that feeling of desperation that it's easy to forgive such a strained plot point.
Point Blank as an action experience is really well done. With a sense of grit to how the city is photographed, as well as a real sense of weight and impact to the action scenes, Cavaye manages to make a pulse pounding action-thriller that captures all the promised excitement of its premise while maintaining the grounding element that these are ordinary people in an extraordinary situation and doesn't make them into "plot armored" action heroes. While Lellouche does do some outlandish stunts, the movie does well to make sure the fit within the context of desperate "last resorts" and we still feel like there's risk involved in these actions.
Point Blank isn't a particularly complicated film, but it is an exhilarating film that uses its simple premise for maximum effect. The movie does strain credibility in its third act with a lot of moving parts, but the brisk running time and desperate stakes keep us engaged to the end credits.