If there’s a Frank Grillo fan club out there, I’d like to join it. Over the last several years, the actor has proven to be one of the best “tough guy” actors on the planet, with performances in films like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (and briefly in ‘Civil War’), “Donnybrook,” “The Purge: Anarchy” (I’ll defend this film till the bitter end), and “The Grey.” Now, thanks to Netflix and one of his Marvel co-stars, Grillo is getting high profile gig he deserves in the film “Point Blank.”
As seen in the trailer for “Point Blank,” Netflix is bringing back the old ‘80s and ‘90s action-revenge film in a big way. All the hallmarks of a good, old-fashioned R-rated action film are here. You have the tough-as-nails lead, who seemingly can’t be beaten or shot and will murder you in an instant (Grillo). There’s his quippy, in-over-his-head partner (Anthony Mackie). And then you have over-the-top violence and swearing that used to be commonplace in this sort of film but have sadly been sanitized in hopes that a PG-13 film will earn more money.
Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the things I’ve described above, then you’re likely just as excited for “Point Blank” as I am. Sure, Netflix announced a new Paul Thomas Anderson/Thom Yorke short film that’s coming out next week. That’s going to be awesome, for sure. But for every cinephile project that is going to expand my ideas of the medium of film, I need a quality palette cleanser.
And no offense to the fine folks involved in “Point Blank,” but I think that this film is going to have me grinning ear to ear without pushing the limits of what I think film can be. I mean, this film promises a whole fight scene in a car wash, with Mackie using a broom as a weapon! Sign me up.
“Point Blank” arrives on Netflix on July 12.
Here’s the 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 find a way to survive together in the fight of their lives. A gritty, action-packed thriller starring Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo.