While Avengers: Endgame has officially handed Anthony Mackie the mantle of a lifetime, his work outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t over by a long shot. And it’s about to get more interesting with Netflix’s latest original, Point Blank, as Mackie is about to team up with former MCU foe Frank Grillo to take on some dirty cops during one long day of action.
Take a look for yourself below, as the first trailer for the film has dropped:
It never felt like teaming Crossbones and The Falcon in an action spectacular would ever happen, but thankfully director Joe Lynch and producer Joe Carnahan have now given the world the gift of seeing such a pairing come alive on the screen. The result is Point Blank, an American remake of the 2010 French film with that very same name.
The story’s a pretty accurate translation too, as Anthony Mackie’s Paul, a nurse with no combat experience whatsoever, is drafted by some mysterious figures to release Frank Grillo’s Abe. A murder suspect that may not be the culprit the cops are looking for, Paul will have to do whatever it takes to survive, as those mysterious figures turn out to be dirty cops who have his pregnant wife held for ransom.
Perhaps the best part about the trailer to the U.S. remake of Point Blank is the fact that while it’s taken the same story as that of writers Fred Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans’ French original, it has a whole different tone at work. While the 2011 film was a deadly serious action film, the Netflix version has a dark comedy about it.
Set to Ice Cube’s “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” Point Blank’s sizzling reel of action-comedy shows so many asses getting kicked by both Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo. Though it’s mostly Grillo that steals that part of the show, because again, Mackie’s character isn’t as experienced with the action part of things just yet. Which isn’t a bad thing, because it’s Paul that’s going to provide the gags that set up some moments of relief when Abe’s done taking names.
The movie is part of Joe Carnahan’s original Netflix output through his War Party production company, which previously saw him team up with Frank Grillo on the original film Wheelman.And Point Blank is as on brand for a Carnahan/Lynch team-up as you could get. Especially when recalling how Lynch has a bit of an action background of his own, courtesy of the Salma Hayek vehicle Everly, as well as 2017’s Mayhem.
Put it all together, and you’ve got what looks like a totally badassed time in Point Blank. Which is exactly the type of movie the collective world of the box office could use at a time like this, what with sequels and reboots in recent weeks failing to capture the world.
It is exactly in times like this that we need someone to kick some ass, crash some cars, and give the world a bit of a jolt; and Point Blank looks like it’s ready to do that job, and do it well. We’ll see if that turns out to be the reality when the film drops on Netflix on July 12th.
