Point Blank
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: July 29, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 11, 2011
This one is dazzling. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonAug 19, 2011
Put aside any hang-ups you may have about subtitles. As action flicks go, Point Blank is right on target. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 11, 2011
Frantic, violent and unrelenting, it is all of a piece, its tightly packed storytelling making cassoulet of its own implausibilities and familiar terrain covering a web of political and institutional conspiracy. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaAug 4, 2011
A breakneck French thriller, Point Blank is so ridiculously successful at keeping its momentum going - and keeping the audience tense with suspense - that it's likely to leave you with your heart pounding, gasping for breath. Read full review
88
New York PostV.A. MusettoJul 29, 2011
You might be reminded of Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1981 thriller "Diva," which also involves crooked cops and Metro chases. But you need never have seen "Diva" to be captivated by the exhilarating Point Blank. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 1, 2011
Cavaye is relentless in his quest to entertain, to thrill. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallAug 11, 2011
Finely calibrated French neonoir. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloJul 29, 2011
It's customary to describe this kind of thriller as "adrenaline-fueled," but this is the first time apart from "Pulp Fiction" I can recall there being an actual shot of adrenaline on screen. Samuel uses it to wake Hugo from his coma, then kind of wishes he hadn't. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJul 28, 2011
I can't recall another thriller that has maintained this kind of velocity without going kablooey and losing its train of thought. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSusan KingJul 28, 2011
A taut, roller-coaster ride clocking in at under 90 minutes about another everyman caught in an extraordinary situation. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 28, 2011
If you lop off the closing credits of Fred Cavayé's preposterously exciting - and pleasingly preposterous - French-language thriller, the running time is a mere 80 minutes. Not since "Run Lola Run" has the term been used more aptly. Read full review
80
EmpirePhilip WildingJul 24, 2011
Another sparkling thriller from the "Anything For Her" director. See it, then wait for the inevitable US remake. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezSep 1, 2011
Point Blank is as disposable as a feature-length episode of TV's 24: The movie is all adrenaline and excitement, and it doesn't really stay with you. Just try to tear your eyes away while you're watching it, though. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrAug 11, 2011
What the movie doesn't do, oddly, is leave much of an impression after it's over. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 10, 2011
An ingenious thriller that doesn't make much sense but doesn't need to, because it moves at breakneck speed through a story of a man's desperation to save his pregnant wife after she has been kidnapped. This is the kind of movie where you get involved first and ask questions later. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttJul 27, 2011
A high-wire act that almost slips as it edges perilously closer and closer to the edge of improbability. But it never does. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. HobermanJul 26, 2011
No good deed goes unpunished in former fashion photographer Fred Cavayé's cunningly contrived, energetically directed, thoroughly economical second feature. Read full review
70
VarietyJordan MintzerJul 24, 2011
Unlike John Boorman's trippy 1967 L.A. noir of the same title, frenetic Gallic suspenser Point Blank provides few existential thrills but plenty of heart-racing action as it follows one man's marathon dash to save his kidnapped wife from execution. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSep 1, 2011
Point Blank passes enjoyably, relentlessly, and determinedly to the moment of its final gasp. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsJul 28, 2011
The actors' charisma is a draw, but mostly, the movie relies on Pavlovian reaction to the genre: The audience has its designated place as surely as any element in Cavayé's relentless machine. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnJul 25, 2011
An impressive feat that relies on distraction rather than fancy effects, it's easy to get swept up and forget that it's a very sweaty retread that's been done many times before. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 29, 2011
The twists and turns involve a high-level assassination, corrupt cops, squint-inducing violence and plenty of fearlessness. Read full review
60
Time OutEric HynesJul 26, 2011
Point Blank fires nothing but blanks in the end, dealing in increasingly ludicrous plot twists and one fizzle of a finale. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineRichard MoweJul 24, 2011
Thrilling and suspenseful without an American star like Russell Crowe or an excess of explosions. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineNick SchagerJul 24, 2011
Fred Cavayé shoots his action with both vigorous propulsion and visual lucidity. Unfortunately, however, his story's revelations, all of which are related to a recent corporate bigwig's assassination, arrive at least two-to-three scenes after they've already become obvious. Read full review
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