Point Man

I was there, this one gets it right. Bad times respect to the fallen who didn't make it back John Davis

It's always great to see new films coming out about Vietnam, which is criminally underrepresented in the catalogue of war films that get released every year. I rank this one seven out of ten stars. Let's break it down:

ACTING: 9/10

Unbelievable performances out of this one. Christopher Long is incredible. Ditto Jacob Keohane as his antagonist, and Chase Gutzmore, the film's tabula rosa. It's hard to find indie films with no known actors that can garnish this kind of review, but seriously, the entire ensemble is magnificent. These guys won't stay under the radar for long.

STORY: 8/10

In independent film story is key, and in a dialogue-driven film you'd better go for broke on the writing. Point Man's writer did precisely that. Outstanding dialogue. Marvelously written, from the characters to their development to the plot, which begins with a simple foot patrol in the jungle and descends into the dark heart of humanity. It's a thinker's movie without the pretentiousness that usually accompanies them.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: 5/10

Point Man is watchable, certainly, but its director isn't going to win any awards for the cinematography. It's not particularly creative, instead using standard back-and-forth shots for the majority of the film. I guess this comes with the territory in anything dialogue-driven, but everything was far too static for my tastes. Which leads me to...

PRODUCTION VALUE: 4/10

My biggest criticism of Point Man lies under this category. It's a great story but it just could've been so much greater had the producers not missed so many opportunities. This thing was shot in Southeast Asia (Cambodia and Vietnam, according to their page) but failed to really feature the topography in a way that accented the production. Why not harness that terrain with the camera? Why not take advantage of the rice patties you can't get anywhere else in the world and get some creative establishing shots?

What saves it production-wise and ultimately makes it passable are its few meritorious big acquisitions, like Huey helicopters, which greatly enhance it, some big explosions, and the wardrobe, which appears carefully crafted, if dotted with some inaccuracies.

TOTAL: 7/10

Story means the world - lots of big budget flicks out there with terrible stories that leave viewers disappointed. And it's the story, ultimately, that makes Point Man worth watching.

Sorry but not enough sweat for the Nam. Next time hire cast that look like Vietnamese instead of 3rd generation America/Spaniards. Try using an advisor that has time in country. Poor plot, poor story but actors gave it their all. Find another way to waste 2 hours.

Poor mans version of Casualties Of War with Sean Penn but it is ultra low budget so you have to keep expectations in line with this which most reviewers forget - Having said that it was a boring story with not much action, most of which was poorly choreographed and very unrealistic, with the usual machine guns firing as if they had unlimited amounts of ammo, silly Vietnamese in brand new cloned bamboo hats and ultra clean clothing which further detracts from the supposed Jungle this is supposed to be set in.

Add to this the copious amount of vulgar language and its a fail.

What is it with film makers these days, they seem to think they have to cater to the lowest common denominator with scenes replete with foul language which in most places is totally unnecessary and it is not just this movie but some of the big ones, heck even Picard and Star Trek are now getting involved; I thought we were supposed to be more advanced in the future but it seems we need the "f" word prefacing every sentence these days to cater for the knuckle draggers that society seems to becoming. The days of great acting, script with no need for intense sex scenes, foul language of the worst kind or brutality seem to be a distant memory - How sad and this is what the younger generation learn from, is it no wonder society is in retrograde evolution. In short this movie exemplifies the lack of intellect and vocabulary in society these days which is very sad, it does not add to the movie, it detracts from the movie which sadly this director seems to have missed - some of us are fed up with it, almost as bad as the woke narrative that also weaves its way into this film, I am just surprised there was not a trans GI or gay scene added for extra wokeness!

The acting was not of stellar variety but it is not as bad as some of the reviews make out; they seem to get better as the film proceeds (Learning on the job methinks) but without a decent script or convincing scenario the thing falls flatter than a snakes belly!

While clearly made on a budget, Point Man is a refreshing take on a genre that seemed to have outlived its lifespan. But maybe that's that point - it is not a film of its genre... its a solid drama. And at the heart of drama is conflict and Point Man had plenty of it. The SFX aren't great, but that's forgiveable, and the audio could have been more solid... but what sets this apart from films of its scale and budget are a few things. The writing: stellar scripting by writer/director Phil Blattenberger. Poetic, cinematic, filled with subtle nuance. The cast was also top notch. But mostly it was the big moments: when a solider decides to intervene in a war crime; the ending (I won't spoil), and when our lead actor - who was outstanding - confronted the 'I love the smell of napalm' style character in Sgt Calhoun - a wild, ferocious, charismatic performance by Paul de Havilland (any relation to Olivia?). That meeting between our hero and anti-hero is the turning point of not only the story but also the theme: it introduces Casper to his central plot problem and also the moral ambiguities that arise in conflict. Outstanding on almost all fronts.