As much as we all bemoan the possibility of yet another remake coming down the pike, sometimes the talent involved too good to ignore. Today brings one of those occasions, as Netflix circles the waters to make an English language film based on the 2010 French hit Point Blank.
That in and of itself should be interesting and enough to hook the average person. The original film was made relatively cheaply (it cost $14 million, dollars, whereas this one is budgeted at $12 million). The runtime is just a hair over 80 minutes. Replicating that formula for the binge watching set could be brilliant. Yet it’s the names at the top of the page which jettison this into “must see” territory.
It appears that everyone’s favorite sidekick/secondary leading man, Anthony Mackie (Pain & Gain, The Night Before) has nearly closed negotiations to star in the vehicle. He’ll be joining Frank Grillo, who is producing alongside Joe Carnahan through their War Party company. The pair scored a sleeper in last year with Wheelman, which was also a Netflix picture, so clearly the streaming giant wants to stay in business with them. Even more exciting is the fact that overseeing all the insanity will be none other than Joe Lynch, whose Mayhem also did well for itself earlier this year.
For those unfamiliar with Point Blank, or never caught it on Netflix, the story is very simple, but effective. An unsuspecting nurse gets wrapped up in the high stakes world of corrupt cops, hit men and all kids of nefarious types after he saves the life of a thief and his pregnant wife is kidnapped. Taut is the best way to describe it, as the movie moves fast fast fast, barely stopping for a breather, before the credits start to roll. It’s the kind of picture where plot-holes are forgiven, or readily ignored, simply because of hos entertaining it is as it flies across the screen.
This isn’t the first time that Fred Cavayé’s film has been down the remake path. A Korean version, named The Target came out in 2014. Hindi film studios have played with the idea of doing an adaptation. Strangely enough, back in 2012, none other than Mark Wahlberg threw his hat into the ring, along with production company Working Title, to get their own take off the ground. That evaporated into thin air, just as quickly as it attempted to materialize. Thankfully that was the case, as the talent involved both behind and in front of the camera for this go around is astronomically greater.
If things go right, this may end up being a film to get really excited about next year. Either way, production is expected to start later this summer.
