Point of Impact

Here is a miniseries that very much wants to be like one of those movies with a sprawling cast of characters whose lives start to interconnect over the course of its running time.  It’s the death of a woman that gets the plot in motion after she falls to her death from a building onto a car.  Suicide is quickly ruled out as forensics show that she didn’t jump, but was thrown.  From there the story follows three different threads:  That of the husband and his efforts to find out why she was killed,  her lover who tries to find out who killed her, and the cops as they investigate her death.  All of their paths cross at multiple points in the story as it unfolds to reveal a tale of corporate espionage and the ruthless lengths those in power will go to cover it up.  All of this is shown through some appealing black-and-white art from Koray Kuranel whose clear storytelling and distinct characters help draw you in.  Writer Jay Faerber also keeps the story moving at a fast clip throughout, giving it some energy in the process.

Unfortunately, “Point of Impact” is no “Magnolia” or “Traffic.”  While the fast pace Faerber imparts to his narrative is appreciated, it doesn’t compensate for the fact that the story he’s telling isn’t very original.  It doesn’t tell us anything new about how bad corporations can be or put any clever spins on the tropes employed here.  Attentive readers will also be able to see the one significant plot twist in the final issue coming well before it hits.  Then you’ve got the dialogue which ranges in quality from functional to laughable in its attempts to convey tough-guy machismo or lessons learned from this whole affair.  Even if it doesn’t want to be a high-minded artistic affair like the films I mentioned, it fails at being satisfying popcorn entertainment.  “Point of Impact” at least features decent art, coherent storytelling and is not actively awful.  If you feel like rewarding this series for meeting the basic standards of narrative told through sequential art with your time and money, then you’re welcome to it..