Point de mire

THE POINT MEN, made in 2001, is an action vehicle centred around waning star Christopher Lambert, whose HIGHLANDER days were long behind him by this stage. The plot is very much run of the mill for genre, involving a shifty Middle Eastern villain who's got a vendetta against a team of crack operatives, and it's all very familiar. But there's one thing that makes this special: the presence of Bond director John Glen at the helm.

Yes! Incredibly enough, Glen's star has also fallen far enough for him to be reduced to this kind of low-budget fare. That's great news for the film, which incorporates a series of stunning action sequences which are clearly handled by a master director; the opening chase is particularly vivid and exciting, good enough to rival Glen's work on the Bond films a couple of decades earlier.

As the story progresses I found myself highly entertained, purely down to the direction. The bit with the truck is also excellent, and if it does tail off a bit towards the end then that's forgivable. Cast-wise, Lambert gives a typical turn, leaving me with the usual impression: that he's a nice guy, but that he doesn't have much presence. Kerry Fox is miscast, but GAME OF THRONES star Donald Sumpter lends some gravitas and Vincent Regan is ever decent, this time as the bad guy. Watch out for former Bond girl Maryam d'Abo in a minor role...