‘Point Blank’ trailer teases the beginning of a long, beautiful Grillo-Mackie cinematic friendship

“I have pepper spray in my purse.”

“I have a gun in my pants.”

Frank Grillo’s criminal on the run sprouting off to an old lady outside a car wash after the man “politely” asked for her car.

Welcome to the world of Joe Lynch’s Point Blank, a cinematic cheeseburger of a film that promises plenty of fucks, a car wash brawl, comedic one liners between its two stars, and a crisp running time of 86 fucking minutes.

If you need to know anything important about this trailer, it’s that the two minute preview gave me an erection. I proceeded to watch this thing three more times, which didn’t help with the anatomical issue. There are cool teasers and then there is the delight provided by Point Blank.

At the heart of the tale are Grillo and Anthony Mackie, last seen throwing fists at each other in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Here, they are a career criminal on the run and a nurse, respectively. Their worlds collide when Mackie’s nurse, Paul, is ambushed in his house and his pregnant wife is kidnapped. His mission: break Grillo out of a hospital, who was left to die in the street as some other dude looked on (Christian Cooke).

What ensues is classic odd couple adventures, including a brawl at a car wash that is sure to be among the highlights of the year in film and a car chase where Paul enlightens Grillo’s overly aggressive con man about the joys of Grand Theft Auto.

All roads lead to corrupt cops, led by Marcia Gay Harden’s sinister looking bitch, who is holding Paul’s wife at the precinct. Grillo’s plan? “I’m going to kill them, all of them.” Paul is along for the ride, producing the perfect foil for his dangerous partner in crime.

The plot merely serves a vehicle for a jacked Grillo and Mackie to use their charisma, physicality, and timing to give us a throwback to the days where movies entertained the shit out of you and didn’t make your head hurt. This is what Netflix is doing. Giving a director in Lynch (he already directed a film called Mayhem) and a plugged-in screenwriter like Adam G. Simon (spot him in the trailer as a cop) the wherewithal to brandish their fun guns.

There’s bad guys, worse guys, and lots of town-destroying in this 140 second slice of steak juice, so buckle up on pizza, bourbon, and coffee for the July 12 premiere.

Grillo is a born man of action, needing only a pair of fists, a hostile past, and a five o’clock shadow that could cut through leather in order to do his thing on film. There aren’t many actors out there who can install more weight into the pronunciation of the word, “fuck,” and have it come off as sweaty poetry.

This is pulp of the highest order and once again, runs at just 86 minutes. War Party Productions (who already have us an 82 minute thrill bag in Wheelman) is manufacturing entertainment that comes in lean, mean, and ultra-cool. Something tells me this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Just listen to Ice Cube sling that “Good Cop, Bad Cop” nostalgia as Grillo and Mackie rip through parking lots, warehouses, car washes, and a city full of corruption.

If you want premium guilt-free entertainment, check out Point Blank next month. Check out the trailer below.

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