Point Blank (1998)

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A gang of dangerous criminals escape from confinement and take over a shopping mall in Texas. It's up to rugged mercenary and ex-Texas Ranger Rudy Ray (a credible performance by a pumped-up Mickey Rourke) to stop these no-count scum and rescue his wayward criminal brother Joe Ray (well played by Kevin Gage) who's mixed up in the whole mess. Director Matt Earl Beesley gets right down to exciting brass tacks in the opening scene and brings a blithely low-grade and enthusiastic pulpy sensibility to the derivative, but still lively and enjoyable premise: the brisk pace rarely lets up for a minute, the characters are drawn with some surprising depth, the violence is both plentiful and excessive, the rousing action set pieces are staged with genuine rip-snorting verve and flashy style, a coked-up slut in a g-string does a hilariously gratuitous pole dance just because she can, and there are even welcome moments of touching humanity amid all the brutal carnage (the strained relationship between Rudy and Joe proves to be unexpectedly moving, with the poignant and tragic last scene between them rating as a truly heart-breaking sequence). The solid professional cast helps matters a whole lot: Danny Trejo goes totally over the top with infectious maniacal glee as vicious and volatile psycho Wallace, Werner Schreyer does well as token sympathetic hard-luck young con Billy, Michael Wright brings real soul to his part of no-nonsense former Marine turned killer Sonny, Paul Ben-Victor is a slimy hoot as shrewd nd duplicitous gay ring leader Howard, Nina Savelle doesn't embarrass herself as sweet sales lady Tracey Deakin, Frederic Forrest is typically fine as amiable good ol' boy sheriff Mack, and veteran character actor James Gammon has a nice bit as Rudy's father. Keith L. Smith's slick cinematography offers lots of snazzy razzle-dazzle visuals. The thrashin' pulsating score by Stephen Edwards likewise hits the stirring spot. The big knock-down bash 'em up confrontation between Rudy and Wallace is simply priceless, with Wallace absorbing a ridiculous amount of punishment and refusing to die. An immensely fun Grade B action thriller.

Warning: Spoilers! I remember first watching this movie not so many years after its release on VHS.Mickey Rourke in his career's best shape, along with Double Team (1997) was what struck me first. There's no doubt he'd been spending some time doing bench press and curls for this part. An impressive physique for somebody who otherwise had an average build. In his boxing days he didn't look anything like this. And I'm pretty sure he could've done the fighting scenes all by himself, had director Matt Earl Beesley given him a chance. Instead, it was wrongly decided he had to be some 'karate master'. Unsuccessful editing ahead, unfortunately. Part from that, he does not speak many lines throughout the movie, but his emotional scenes along with Kevin Gage are as real as can be.Paul Ben-Victor as the 'boss'. I loved him. A bad guy, with his witty comments and nonchalant attitude. Not to mention gay. One of those guys you just love to hate. Of course he gets what he deserves in the end.Michael Wright as one of the ex-military baddies who realizes he's finished. He's "sorry" for catching his wife in adultery, and stabbing the guy who screwed her 14 times and cutting his throat. An obsessive psycho, but I did feel sorry for him. Of course he goes out with guns blazing 'T2'-style. A harmony of closure and violence. Perfect.Werner Schreyer as the young kid who caught some bad luck and got his death sentence. I felt a bit sorry for him too, although not as sorry as I felt for Michael Wright's character. I'm not sure the party's over for this pretty boy or not. Although Danny Trejo said so. He's the perfect main bad guy. On drugs, lousy aim and immune to physical pain. Of course it takes Rourke on steroids to deal with him. The showdowns between, them mixed with the guitar solos have a special vibe to them. Music sets the mood more than you'd think, and could transcend otherwise average fight scenes (which really is the case here) into something you'll remember.Forget about the story, the plot and such. There is no such thing. You would not watch this movie for these things. Yes, it is a rip-off of certain movies which are a lot better. 'Leon' (1994), also mentioned by other users, being one example. Technically as a movie, it belongs in the low budget category, and I can very well understand why it was released direct-to-video.I still give it a 10 out of 10. Call it sentimental value.

This is the worst movie Rourke ever made. I am a huge 80z Rourke fan but this is just pathetic. Not because it is a rip off of other movies. Not because it is a stupid B-movie. Not even because Rourke has destroyed his looks. It is awful because Mickey actually thought he was giving a good performance. This is the standard he now sets for himself. That's just sad. Is this really the same guy who was in Diner?

I decided to roll the dice when renting POINT BLANK. My desire for a B-action film became unbearable and past experience proves that solid B-action films do exist in the direct to video market (e.g. Black Cat Run, The Guyver II: Dark Hero). Mickey Rourke is an established actor (YEAR OF THE DRAGON) who in the past years traded his legitimacy for a few inches on his bicep (I did enjoy DOUBLE TEAM however). But then the ripoffs within POINT BLANK became unbearable... Mickey Rourke plays an ex-military, ex-Texas Ranger now working for Pa who mentions to him one day that his brother is one of a group of convict escapees now holding an entire shopping mall hostage. Pa also mentions his brother's future is in his hands. An overriding theme of sentimentality plays well in the movie between the two brothers and even with some of the convicts revealing their human side. I also enjoyed the music played during these sequences. But that's about it... Paul Ben Victor (over)plays a gay ex-business man convicted of money laundering coming back to roost in his office underneath a mall, now stashed with military weaponry. Having masterminded the convict breakout, his motives conflict with the other convicts including Rourke's brother (who merely wants freedom and money....I think....the storyline gets a tad muddled here). With the ok from lead Tex Ranger in charge, Rourke makes his way into the mall and "pays homage" to many of the action movie greats of the 1990's: Martial arts by a non-martial artist, two gunmen shooting at each other between obstacles a la John Woo's Hard Boiled and Hard Target (but looking MUCH more clumsy), high floor mini gun without the dramatic punch of T2, and finally the most blatant artistic theft possibly EVER coming straight from Luc Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL (you've got to see it to believe it). Couple this with extremely sloppy editing and you've got yourself a film that maintains the reputation that direct to video films are of low quality. As an action hero, Mickey Rourke does have potential. He possesses a cool, calm bad ass quality reminiscint of an early MAN WITH NO NAME Clint. His physique compares to that of a Van Damme (of course without the grace or charisma). However, if he ever wants legitimacy as an action hero, a film of "grander" (not necessarily more expensive) proportions is needed.