Review:
*Originally written February 26th, 2019*
You kinda know what to expect when it comes to Liam Neeson action thrillers by this point. Aside from the Taken sequels, they are perfectly serviceable pieces of throwaway entertainment. I was very much expecting this to be more of the same, but instead, it is far more out there, weird and surprisingly different to his usual revenge films.
There are so many strokes of such weird broad comedy littered throughout. I mean, it can be a bit of a mess at times, I rarely knew when I was meant to just be laughing, taking it seriously or just meant to take in the gonzo randomness of it all. At the very least, there are some very strong moments of broad, strange humour that do land, I just wish it was a little more consistent for the most part.
Neeson is as reliable as he usually is, once again playing a man who is avenging the death of a family member. In this case, the family member being his son, who is found dead of a heroin overdose despite the fact he was never known to be a drug user, so see goes on a quest to figure out who did it. Even in his older age, Neeson is still a competent action star and they use his age to the films advantage, never getting him to do insane stunts or anything to unrealistic for a man his age. He does also display some nice touches towards the beginning as a man distraught of the loss of his young son, probably helped by his own loss of family in real life.
While being an action film, there's never really any massive memorable set-piece for the most part, aside from one final shootout that barely even has Neeson in it. It's mostly a series of cold executions from Neeson, as he makes his way from target to target, gathering information and coldly killing anyone involved with his sons death. I was a little reminded of Taken, which I always appreciated for him just coldly murdering anyone who got in his way and the take no prisoners attitude.
As entertaining as this all was, there's a lot added subplots that really don't add up to much. The weirdest of which being Laura Dern as the wife of Neeson's character, who really just had no purpose in the film and is quickly written out of the film with a brief and pointless role. Then there is also the inclusion of two cops who you'd assume would be tailing Neeson's exploits, but the two stories barely come together and also just feel like needless padding. The removal of both of these could have easily given the film a much brisker run-time, not that 2 hours is completely unreasonable.
There is also a decent amount of the run-time dedicated to the villain, which is rare for a film like this. I honestly could not tell you anything about the bad guy in a previous Liam Neeson action film. Thankfully, Tom Bateman's "Viking" is a fun piece of eccentric villainy, a camp, pantomime performance filled with weird little ticks and characterisations that really steal the show.
I was also unaware this was a remake of a Norwegian thriller "In Order of Disappearance", also directed by Hans Peter Moland. I'm not sure how this compares to the original, but I am very interested to check it out at some point. In all honesty, I am shocked this wasn't another collaboration between Liam Neeson and Jean Collet-Serra. They do so many action films together, that I just expect every new Liam Neeson thriller is directed by him.
So I guess that's why I was so surprised by the weird and unusual tone for such a film, but for all of the films tonal messes, Moland has directed a genuinely great looking film, making use of its gorgeous snowy town in a fictional town in Norway. Thinking about it, this might actually be Neeson's best film since The Grey. It's not quite up to the level of that masterpiece, but I think with rewatches, this could grow on me as I adjust to the weirdness and tonal awkwardness.
Cold Pursuit might not be what you would expect from a typical Liam Neeson thriller, but is all the more better for it. Neeson is reliable, the action is cold and brutal, and it's surprisingly out there and weird. It's a shame it's done so poorly, as it's one of Neeson's best in years.
7/10 Dans
Cold Pursuit is out now in cinemas in the UK, with a 4K UHD Steelbook available to pre-order from Zavvi
Watch the trailer below:
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Letterboxd: Dan
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