Point Blank

At first glance, the high-octane French thriller Point Blank seems a prime candidate for a Hollywood remake.

Then it becomes apparent that it’s not much different from the average thriller that Hollywood churns out already. All right, that definitely increases the likelihood of a remake.

It’s a dark Parisian tale of revenge and corruption from director Fred Cavaye, a former fashion photographer whose first feature, Anything For Her, was remade last year as the Russell Crowe vehicle The Next Three Days.

Yet despite classic thriller elements of greed and betrayal, along with some mistaken identity and kidnapping subplots thrown in, the film doesn’t deliver anything more than conventional thrills.

The line between heroes and villains is blurred at first, when hospital nurse Samuel (Gilles Lellouche) saves the life of a patient who was involved in a car accident. Little did he know that good deed would lead to the kidnapping of his pregnant wife (Elena Anaya) and his pursuit by criminals who want him dead.

Still uncertain of who is after him or for what reason, he finds a reluctant ally in the accident victim, a thief named Hugo (Roschdy Zem) who is also on the run. After being wrongfully suspected in the murder of a corporate executive, Samuel is forced to desperate measures to clear his name with the cops and free his wife from the gangsters.

Cavaye’s direction is generally stylish, such as during a nighttime foot chase through an abandoned stairwell that opens the film and establishes its fast pace. His choice to shoot on location pays dividends with some gritty moments inside a subway tunnel and a crowded hospital corridor.

The cat-and-mouse structure yields some taut action sequences, including a few early escape scenes that provide some tension that a majority of the film is lacking. In the second half, the far-fetched plot twists yield an unsatisfying payoff.

It seems for every moment of originality, there is a cliché such as the kidnapped wife that serves to manipulate audience response rather than earn it genuinely. That’s something that Point Blank has in common with most Hollywood thrillers these days, meaning Cavaye probably has nothing to worry about.

Rated R, 84 minutes.