The Hollow Point

The Hollow Point stars Patrick Wilson, Lynn Collins, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Jim Belushi. It was released back in 2016 and was directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego who has a very limited filmography, but is probably best know for directing the 2011 sci-fi/ horror film Apollo 18.

The premise of this movie is that hollow point bullets are being smuggled into Mexico from the United States, by way of a desolate road out of a small border town. When the town's Sheriff (played by Patrick Wilson) starts to investigate he quickly finds himself in over his head. It turns out that the bullets are being sold to drug cartels and there is a relentless hitman (played by John Leguizamo) with a list of targets. 

I'm not going to say that is a great movie by any stretch but, I was fully engaged while watching it. I like a lot of the actors involved, and the story is a serviceable thriller. I do think that the first half of the film is a bit better than the second. As it went along it seemed to lose focus and it all lead to a lackluster conclusion. The film looks good and there is some slick cinematography but, the writing in my opinion is where this film suffers. The characters all felt pretty one dimensional and there's this odd recurring thing where anytime Patrick Wilson's character leaves a room, whoever he was talking to calls him an 'asshole'. Not to his face or in a confrontational way, they just kind of murmur it to themselves. Likewise, everyone keeps calling Ian McShane a 'dinosaur'. Sure, the man's in his 70's but, it just seems like lazy writing.

Overall, I thought The Hollow Point was pretty entertaining. It has it's problems and I wouldn't call it a 'must-see' but, it's alright.
2.5 out of 5.