Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Hollow Point

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Violent vigilante revenge action movie; language, rape.

Movie NR 2019 89 minutes
Hollow Point Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In HOLLOW POINT, Nolan is a college professor who lectures on criminal justice. One evening, while heading home, his wife and daughter try to take a shortcut to avoid traffic, but end up witnessing a gang shooting, and are killed by a vicious gang leader named Trigger (Jay Mohr). A witness identifies Trigger as the killer, but the witness is killed, and without this witness, the police are unable to do anything. Trigger walks out of jail a free man. Shocked at this failure of justice, Nolan tries to take the law into his own hands and attempts to kill Trigger while he's hosting a party in his backyard. The attempt fails, and in a cruel twist of fate, Nolan is arrested and sent to prison. While reading law books in the prison library, Nolan gets into a fight with an inmate who sexually harasses him, and is soon getting beaten to a pulp, but is rescued by a skilled fighter and lawyer named Hank (Luke Goss), who beats up Nolan's attackers, and soon takes an interest in Nolan's case. With Hank's help, Nolan gets out of prison, but Nolan still feels angered that Trigger got away with killing his wife and daughter. He soon meets up with Hank and two of Hank's friends in a bar. Hank tells him how, with the help of his two friends, they've taken the law into their own hands to ensure that criminals who evaded justice through legitimate means get what's coming to them. Nolan is both skeptical and horrified by Hank's crew and their methods, and he must decide if Hank's approach is something he wants to be a part of, especially if it's the only way he can get revenge on Trigger.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a clunky and extremely violent vigilante action fantasy movie. Hollow Point is a movie that paints a portrait of urban life as bleak and crime-filled as anything conveyed in 1970s vigilante action movies like Death Wish. The overarching themes aren't much different from Death Wish -- in this case, a college professor who speaks in platitudes and theoreticals about "an eye for an eye" and the sanctity of the American criminal justice system has these thoughts frayed then broken after his wife and daughter are senselessly murdered, and the killer gets away with it. As if that's not bad enough, Nolan, the college professor, is sent to prison after he tries to kill the killer (a dead-eyed psychotic mumbler played by Jay Mohr). And so the revenge fantasy is set into motion, with the expected vigilante justice that comes with it.

If it sounds ridiculous, that's because it is. The plot points come across as a little too convenient, and the fight scenes are a little too easy of a setup. Speaking of Death Wish (and its sequels), the bad guys in this movie are as cartoonishly evil as anything from the days of Charles Bronson taking on the dirty rotten punks who made our once-great cities a haven and a playground for any and all felons. And the less said about Luke Goss's American accent, the better. Essentially, this is a mindless revenge fantasy movie that's too dumb and predictable to provide anyone with any outlet for escape or satisfaction when the evildoers get their comeuppance.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the revenge theme of Hollow Point. How does the lead character's college lecture on "an eye for an eye" set the stage for what's about to happen? What are your thoughts on the movie's messages about vigilante justice?

  • Why do you think movies centered on lead characters getting even with the bad guys are so popular? Is there an element of fantasy to this, of wishing those who do harm get their comeuppance?

  • Was the violence necessary to the story? How much is too much?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate