Run All Night, but don’t watch this movie!
Liam Neeson. 62. The latest Hollywood star to get stuck in the casting rut.
He redefined gritty, low-budget action dramas with his 2009 movie Taken. And then came Taken 2. And then, Taken 3. And now, Run All Night.
Sure, he is an action hero and everything he touches turns to gold (of lesser grade purity as time goes on). Though the movie does feel different from the Taken franchisee, Neeson would do well to take a brief sabbatical from action cinemas altogether.
In Run All Night, he plays Jimmy Conlon, a retired hit man for a local crime boss Shawn Maguire (a very brooding Ed Harris). His lifestyle leads to his wife’s death. Guilt-ridden, he wastes away his life as an alcoholic. He is the butt of jokes among his peers.
Jimmy’s son Mike (Joel Kennaman) sees Shawn’s son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) kill a man and Jimmy steps in to save his son, by knocking off Danny. But they ain’t a saintly pair either. Mike hates Jimmy for his troubled life as a gangster.
Shawn swears revenge and the stage is set for a tense thriller involving good and bad cops, Albanian gangs, a deadly hit man — all in a single night.
The film progresses at breakneck speed, and that speed is what killed the movie for me. Not much scope is given to plot development and the characters are one-dimensional. All they do is run, jump, dodge bullets, kill or be killed.
This is the third collaboration between Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra and their comfort level is pretty obvious.
If the pace of action was a bit slower, if there was a little more fleshing out of characters, if realization had dawned that more action didn’t always mean more, then this would’ve been a great film.
Neeson, action movies may be your cup of tea, but understand there’s only so much tea one can make out of a single teabag.
VERDICT: Liam Neeson fans rejoice, for there’s another Taken-esque movie in the theatre. For everyone else, go read a book. Four out of 10.
AY AY CAPTAIN xD
1st I watch this movie and it's great and give alot of life lessons , 2nd you forget '' Non stop '' 2014 it was amazing movie to Neeson also :)
No, sir. I don't work for them. I'm just a bloke interested in seeing movies and writing about it.
I mean Applying here in Qatarliving i mean hahah!
Ow you didn't Get it? Sorry, i mean A while ago they are searching for a Content Writer here in Doha, so i've applied, Anyways... Really? So you're just a Moderator or something? Cool!, i know i can post movies in the movies section but not in the Front page hahah.
Lemuel, I didn't get that part about applying, but not having the experience. I just post my reviews and they promote it because they think it's value addition to the site. I'm no expert wither. Just a bloke who loves movies and loves to to write about it. :-)
You can post in the 'movies in Qatar' section too!
No Worries Man, I wish more people come and join us here in the forums, I've applied before, but i guest i don't have the experience haha! it seems Fun & Interesting.
Hi Lemuel, thanks for your comment. :-) it's unbelievable action, which goes against the laws of physics. :-) there's only do much one can take.
Anyways, I didn't know Liam Neeson had said he wouldn't do anymore action movies. Seems he's got a clearer opinion of where his career is going. Good for him, I've always liked him.
IMO it's A good movie... because you see the actors or the character that he is potraying having a hard time, unlike expandables who just blow things up, it's not bad, it's okay. and btw he said action no more xD