Point Blank Reviews

(OK) Confused beginning as Lee Marvin awakens from death, the deja vu seems as rememebers from previous life; the existential dimension (which is my last name? asks Angie Dickinson to Marvin; which is my first name? asks Walker/Marvin to her) of a man that kills and looks for his money and is never satisfied, and the great, great momento of shooting the telephone, a masterpiece

Honestly, it has been a while since I saw a movie directed by John Boorman but I always had a weak spot for his work. As a matter of fact, this movie was actually barely seen when it was released but it has reached cult status through the years. To my surprise, I realised that 'Payback', a pretty good underrated Mel Gibson flick, was actually a remake of this movie which was something I actually didn't know before watching the damned thing. Anyway, above all, I was impressed by the directing. Indeed, especially during the first 20 minutes, the whole thing had a very strong surrealistic quality and it was quite mesmerizing to behold. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie, while it was entertaining, was much more straightforward. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I saw it on the BBC without subtitles and maybe I missed some details in the dialogues. I was also impressed by Lee Marvin, an actor which I knew by name but with whom I'm not so familiar with. So, the directing and acting were really interesting but I wasn't really so sure about the story which was rather pedestrian, at least, in my opinion. Still, it was a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

The basis for Mel Gibson's Payback. A classic; violent, nasty and gets to the point! Probably one of the best of the 60s!