Point Blank

Bomb Rating: 

"Point Blank" is mostly commentary on the nameless, faceless, repulsive character of corporate America.

If you thought Steven Seagal was a bit stiff as an actor, you need to see Lee Marvin in this John ("My Life As a Dog") Boorman film from 1967. There's a scene in which his sister-in-law, Chris (Angie Dickinson), tries to beat the crap out of Walker (Marvin) -- and Lee just stands there like he's confused about a word on a cue card somebody is holding off stage. She beats on Walker for like sixty seconds, so it must be a long word.

Walker gets double-crossed during a robbery by his pal (John Vernon) and wife, who leave him for dead. To their dismay, Walker turns up a few years later vowing revenge and looking for "my money." There really isn't too much complexity to Walker. He just kills and beats people and when asked why he's doing it he just says, "I want my money." Emotionally, Walker's got more in common with a toaster than with other human beings.

"Point Blank" is mostly commentary on the nameless, faceless, repulsive character of corporate America. Walker can never get his hands on "my money" because nobody seems to be able to tell him just exactly where it is. Nobody, from his accomplices to a high-ranking manager (Carroll O'Connor), can touch actual funds. It's all on paper; nothing is actually there. Walker's conundrum is nothing more than a corporate conspiracy.

Walker's outwitting of his corporate betters might have been interesting if Walker didn't have the personality and charisma of a slab of asphalt. If Boorman's goal was to show how we've become automatons, he could have at least thought up a slightly more entertaining way to do it.

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