Hollow Point (released on October 22, 1996) is a darkly comedic action thriller that perfectly encapsulates the high-energy spirit of mid-nineties genre cinema. Directed by Sidney J. Furie (The Taking of Beverly Hills), the film distinguishes itself from the era’s self-serious procedurals by embracing a wild, almost operatic tone that balances explosive set-pieces with a witty, “odd-couple” dynamic.
It is a film that delights in its own absurdity, featuring a cast that understands exactly when to play it straight and when to lean into the stylized chaos of a world governed by bullets and betrayal.
The story follows the uneasy alliance between Max Parrish (Thomas Ian Griffith of Excessive Force), a maverick DEA agent with a penchant for flashy tactics, and Diane Norwood (Tia Carrere), a cool-headed FBI agent who prefers to play by the book.
Both are pursuing the same high-level target: Thomas Livingston (John Lithgow), a sophisticated, eccentric, and utterly ruthless crime lord who is orchestrating a massive multi-billion dollar money-laundering merger between the Russian mob and the Italian Mafia.
Livingston is a villain of theatrical proportions, prone to philosophical tangents and outbursts of refined violence.
To stop him, Max and Diane must navigate a treacherous landscape of double-crosses, starting with their pursuit of a hitman named Garret Lawton (Donald Sutherland).
Lawton, an aging and dry-witted professional, soon finds himself caught between the agents and his employer, eventually becoming a reluctant, third wheel in their mission.
As the trio tracks Livingston from urban warehouses to a high-stakes showdown in the snowy wilderness, they are forced to contend with an endless barrage of mercenaries and corrupt officials.
The narrative builds to a pyrotechnic finale involving a massive amount of cash and a literal boatload of explosives, where the protagonists must finally put aside their jurisdictional bickering to take down Livingston and his criminal empire before the money vanishes forever.
Tia Carrere and Thomas Ian Griffith in Hollow Point (Photo/Millennium Media)
Legacy of Hollow Point
Hollow Point is rooted in its reputation as one of the most entertaining and well-crafted direct-to-video actioners of the 1990s and is remembered for Lithgow’s brilliantly over-the-top performance, which remains a favorite among fans of cinematic villains, and for the dry, scene-stealing gravitas provided by Sutherland.
