Hollow Point
Common Sense says
- NR
- 2019
- 89 minutes
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Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Hollow Point is a 2019 action thriller in which a college professor seeks vengeance after his wife and daughter are senselessly murdered by a gang leader. The movie centers on vigilantes who get revenge on criminals who evaded the justice system, and as such there's a wide array of violent acts besides the usual action movie violence of fighting with assault weapons, guns, punches, and kicks. A man is shown sexually harassing his assistant through talk and touch, and spikes her glass of wine so she passes out before he takes advantage of her. This rapist is later tied up, beaten, and tortured by the vigilantes. Characters are beaten until they're bruised and bloody. Characters beat people with wrenches. Alcohol drinking at bars and parties. Implied sex between the villain and two women. An inmate makes sexual innuendoes to another inmate. Reference to oral sex. Cigarette smoking. Marijuana smoking. Frequent profanity, including "f--k," the "N" word, and a homophobic slur.
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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?
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
- In theaters: April 13, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: April 9, 2021
- Cast: Luke Goss, Dilan Jay, Jay Mohr
- Director: Daniel Zirilli
- Studio: Vertical Entertainment
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Run time: 89 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: April 13, 2021
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