Point Blank [DVD] [2011]

If you suspend belief for 80 minutes, this is an OK film, nothing more; nothing less. Reviewers who have commented that this French production is a breath of fresh air compared to "flashy" Hollywood thrillers must have watched a different film - this is every bit as "flashy" as a Hollywood production.

Although fast-paced and well acted, the plot stretches credibility on more than a few occasions and this spoils what could otherwise have been a very good action thriller. Had it been 30 minutes longer, I feel that the director could have made a more believable and ultimately more enjoyable film. As it is, everything is just too rushed and, plot wise, extremely convenient.

The director's earlier film, 'Anything for Her', is far superior to this effort and was remade by Hollywood. I doubt very much that there will be a Hollywood remake of this - the director's already done the job for them.

Our hero is a family man, studying for his nurse's qualifications and helping his wife who is expecting their first child. He finds himself plunged into a mess of criminal gangs, assassinations, rogue flics, and all at break-neck speed. The constant driving force of the movie (there are few quiet periods)helps engage our senses which makes figuring out all the angles just that bit harder (like singing the Marseillaise while listening to the Sex Pistols). The film makes no pretensions to being high art but is a good action policier; the use of Mr Average (instead of a Jason Statham martial arts equivalent) as hero certainly added to the piece.

This is a French crime thriller which has borrowed a bit from the `Die Hard' franchise. It tells the story of trainee nurse Samuel Pierret (Gilles Lellouche), whose wife is very heavily pregnant. One night a man is taken into the Hospital after he has suffered a stomach laceration and been run over by a (quite fast) motorbike. He is on a ventilator, and not in a good way. Someone cuts the life saving tube and he starts to suffocate. Samuel spots it just in time and saves the mans life.

That was a big mistake; this guy is a wanted high calibre thief - Hugo Sartet (Roscidy Zem). His compatriots have followed Samuel home and then decide to take his wife hostage and force him to `spring' their boss (who has made a miraculous recovery). Samuels wife has been told she is in danger of losing the baby and has to spend the rest of her pregnancy lying down, so this brutal interruption sends Sam a bit desperate. It turns out the docs were wrong as she is able to do all sorts of derring do. He then decides to do all it takes to get her back.

He goes back into work (after a night shift) and puts a rather crude plan into operation, meanwhile the Gendarmes have taken fingerprints from the unknown guy and are heading back to ask some pesky questions. The cops are also investigating the murder of an uber rich business guy, but are the matters linked?

Well this tries to avoid formulaic plot developments, and has some brilliant touches. I liked the French police driving Alfa Romeos. There is an however, and that is the number of plot holes. If you just go with the flow, then this is an excellent action movie, with full throttle action, double crosses and plot twists, but the contrivances just took something away for me.

I am a big fan of World Cinema and especially love European Cinema and I think Director Fred Cavaye has done an above average job, but some of the artifice he uses means that this is hard to take that seriously. If you want to suspend belief for 84 mins, with full on action, some blood and guts and some really rather good performances from all involved, then this will tick your boxes, if you thought `Anything For Her'Anything For Her [DVD] [2008] was a bit of a stretch, then best to avoid.