There are some really great films out there that never get the big screen treatment for whatever reason. The latest The Hollow Point features a great cast including Patrick Wilson, Ian McShane, Lynn Collins, John Leguizamo, and Jim Belushi with Open Grave director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego at the helm, but does it offer up that something special that makes it stand out or will it not be able to hit the target?

​

The Hollow Point follows a new sheriff of a small town along the U.S. & Mexico border investigates a drug cartel deal that went horribly wrong. When I saw the trailer for this film I was instantly intrigued with seeing the always awesome Leguizamo alone in a cartel killer like role. I had a completely different thought of what I thought I was getting and that was a good thing. This is a modern day violent western that really worked well. Patrick Wilson leads the charge as he tries to solve these violent crimes. The cast all do a great job with Wilson keeping the grounded nature of it all together. McShane once again does an awesome job as well bringing a rough around the edges, hard as nails character that you can’t help but love and hate all at once. Going in I completely forgot that Jim Belushi was here and it was a great surprise. It’s been awhile since I have seen him in much and I loved the slimy nature of this character and overall performance he brought to the table.

​

The main reason I even wanted to see this film was for Leguizamo and he did not disappoint. I was hoping for so much more screen time, but here it is necessary to how his character is handled. Throughout his career he has delivered some truly great performances with so much range from drama in The Infiltrator and Empire to his brilliant one man shows and the highly underrated comedy The Pest. Here he is in full killer mode and knocks it out of the park. He could have just been a faceless killer, but underneath it all was still a deeper character that made you care once you finally see it all revealed. His violent cat and mouse game with Wilson is so much fun to watch with both of these guys really bringing it home.

​

This film offered up so much more than I expected as a whole with the finished product. It pulled no punches with the violence and is one of those rare few films that deserved a bigger release than it got. If you are looking for a great violent crime thriller then you need to check out The Hollow Point.