After watching the first 15 minutes of this film, I was ready to turn it off and see something else. I am very glad I stuck with it, but still don't understand why the beginning of the film was handled in such a confusing and over-the-top manner. Instead of telling a straight story, the film bounces back and forth from the distant past to the past to the present and frankly this all seemed overdone and made my head hurt! However, despite this apparent attempt to be "artsy", the plot was so good and the performances so cold that the film couldn't help but be good.

Lee Marvin is a man who was shot and left for dead by his best friend, played by John Vernon. To make things worse, Marvin's wife stood by and did nothing to stop it and, in fact, went on to marry Vernon! Exactly how Marvin survived and where he spent the next two years were never really explored--he just shows up two years later looking to not only kill Vernon but to get the $93,000 stolen from him. And, when Vernon doesn't pay him back, Marvin goes up the chain of command in the mob to make sure SOMEONE pays him back! It's really interesting how the film lacked context but still was highly engaging. I think a lot of this was the intensity of the action and the ironic twists and turns throughout the film--it was very well-written and acted. Also, despite being a pretty violent film, the film didn't go so far as to alienate the average adult viewer and all the violence did help to convey the story. This is a very creative and unusual film that is a good choice for someone wanting something different.

Back in the theater where I first saw Point Blank, the film became known for down to this day as the film where Lee Marvin, shot the telephone. It was a very destructive thing to do, but as Carroll O'Connor says in the film, Marvin is a very destructive man.

Marvin's a professional hit man who took a large contract with a partner and friend John Vernon, however Vernon has some heavy debts and he steals Marvin's end of the fee. It amounts to $93,000.00, a really heavy sum back in 1967.

Marvin don't want to hear excuses he wants his money and goes up the organized crime chain of command to get it, aided and abetted by the mysterious Keenan Wynn who has his own agenda.

Angie Dickinson is on hand to lend Marvin some moral support and she's very helpful indeed in getting to the protected John Vernon.

The one thing I notice about Point Blank is that Marvin, professional hit man that he is and no doubt tough guy, does not really kill all that many people in the film. But the bodies do keep dropping all around him.

A lot of people seem to think Point Blank is some great piece of cinematic art. I don't think so, but it's still entertaining enough, especially for Lee Marvin's fans.

POINT BLANK is an early outing for DELIVERANCE director John Boorman, who acquits himself ably with the hard-boiled crime format. Tough guy Lee Marvin stars in one of his most memorable roles as a small-time gangster who's double-crossed by his partner and his own wife!

The story sees Marvin going on a rampage of revenge as he tracks down various gangsters who owe him money, including a deliciously slimy John Vernon and other effective character actors. Angie Dickinson shows up as a femme fatale, while Boorman has style to spare, creating a gorgeous-looking movie full of sun-bleached city-scapes.

In fact, as a movie, POINT BLANK ticks many of the boxes in its journey to the twist ending. The action is sparse and well-handled; Marvin's tough beyond belief in the type of role that Charles Bronson would later make his own; the plot is lean and mean, and there are some wonderful set-pieces, like the bit in the drainage canal. Altogether a fine little movie and one of the most impressive of its decade.