Run All Night
Welcome to another Liam Neeson is kicking ass movie! This one switches things up a bit in the fact that he is actually playing a character. This was a nice surprise to see him act again.
Here, Neeson and Ed Harris play old friends that grew up in the mob lifestyle who are now on opposite ends of the spectrum. Harris is running the show and going legit, he has a son who struggling to get his father’s acceptance, Neeson is having trouble just trying to keep the heat in his apartment on, and his son wants nothing to do with the ex-hit man The lives of the two sons get tangled up in a violent exchange, so now one father wants to kill, and the other wants to protect.
No doubt this is the “B” movie you think it is, but with much better acting. Everybody here shows up to play, even though the script is strictly popcorn entertainment. Ed Harris is solid as usual. Joel Kinnaman really impressed me here, especially considering he was last years (ugh) Robocop. I’m looking forward to see him in upcoming movies. Common doesn’t show up until more than halfway through the flick, and barely has any dialog at all, but he definitely makes his presence felt as a somewhat Terminator stalking his prey.
You really have to accept this movie as being a fantasy film noir, instead of the gritty drama that it wants to be. How is it supposed to be Christmas time in New York and the outside temp looks like it’s in the 60’s? How do two guys run through a New York neighborhood, firing guns around and no other person comes out of their homes to investigate?
Those quibbles aside, this is an entertaining chase/revenge film with some slick camera tricks and slightly better acting than you would expect. If you’re in the mood for an Liam Neeson kicking ass movie, you could do a lot worse.
