By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
“Hollow Point” is a throw-back revenge thriller with a message and even more action.
Directed and written by
Daniel Zirilli (upcoming “Renegades”), “Hollow Point” has an old school vibe about it that even blaxploitation stars,
Fred Williamson and Richard Roundtree would applaud.
“Hollow Point” is set in Los Angeles. Crime is rampant and the police are stretched thin. Criminals know it and that’s why night crawlers like Hank Carmac (Luke Goss, “Override”), Damian Wakefield (“Righteous Blood”) and Amanda Ray (JuJu Chan Szeto, TV’s “Wu Assassins”) take to the streets and deliver their own brand of justice to the low-life drug dealers and other scum that the cops can’t find.
This trio’s brand of vigilante justice is messy, but effective as we see them shoot up a drug house and take down some of the major players. Somebody has to make Los Angeles safe again and the criminals accountable for their actions.
Meanwhile, across town noted law school professor Nolan Cooray (Dilan Jay, who also produced this movie) instills in his students the importance of having laws, morals, and ethics. His students love him and so does his wife and young daughter.
In fact, he can’t wait to see them after work. They wind up getting caught in traffic and decide to take a short cut. In the process, they witness gang member Trigger (Jay Mohr, “Hunter’s Moon”) killing a rival dude and he winds up shooting them.
When Nolan arrives home and a couple of hours go by and they still don’t arrive, he calls the police and then gets the tragic news. Nolan is devastated beyond belief but is assured by homicide detectives Chuck Bryant (Roger Guenveur Smith, TV’s “Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker”) and Emily Plaza (Natalie Burn, TV’s “Studio City”) that justice will be served.
But it isn’t.
That leaves Nolan, the law-and-order guy out for revenge. He teams with good old Hank (Goss) who also is a pro bono lawyer . Hank decides the legal route isn’t necessarily the best one for Nolan. Instead, he teaches him how to fight to protect himself while he’s in jail and introduces Nolan to his other partners in crime.
Nolan comes out of jail even more messed up than when he went in. He certainly now understands just how cold-blooded justice can be sometimes.
The cast, particularly Roger Guenveur Smith, Luke Goss, and JuJu Chan Szeto bring a lot to this show. It’s a shame that the legendary Bill Duke who plays a security guard in the movie couldn’t get more screen time.
Still, “Hollow Point” is such a wildly enjoyable B-Movie that I would love to see a follow-up to it.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"HOLLOW POINT"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
