Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Distributor: Warner Bros Home Entertainment
Duration: 114 minutes
Run All Night (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Liam Neeson, the man of many talents and the proper skills to find where you’re hiding, takes up a slightly more ‘damaged’ role in Run All Night. As a former hit man of a mafia boss, it seems that Neeson’s character will not be the classical hero this time. Nonetheless, it was clear we were in for an action packed movie, supported by a slightly predictable plot. Take cover or a stray bullet might just run into you.
Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), a retired hitman who used to do Shawn Maguire’s (Ed Harris) dirty work is pretty much a living mess. He has given up on life and finds comfort in drinking away his sorrow and has left his family behind. The only ‘friend’ he has is Shawn, who makes sure Jimmy has a roof over his head and enough basic comfort to live out his remaining days. Jimmy also left behind his son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), who is currently helping out children without a father, in the local gym. More specifically, he is the mentor of a young boy, nicknamed Legs, whilst he also has a loving wife, two daughters and a son on the way. Perhaps this is the only thing Jimmy takes some comfort in.
When Shawn’s son, Danny (Boyd Holbrook), comes to his father with a lucrative drug deal, Shawn refuses what his son and Albanese business partners have to offer. Sadly, Danny already accepted a big amount of money from the Albanese gangsters, which they will come back for later that day. Of course Danny has already spent the money and comes up with the brilliant idea of simply killing the two gangsters. The Albanese mobsters used a limousine to be brought to Danny’s apartment and faith chose Mike to be the limousine driver at that specific time. When Danny performs his plan, one gangster escapes, only to die in front of the limo Mike is still in. When Danny finds Mike, he drags him inside to dispose of him, but luckily Mike breaks free, escaping back to his home.
Danny informs his father of what just happened and Shawn immediately calls Jimmy to pay Mike a visit in order to make him an offer that would ensure his silence. Seeing Jimmy has left his son behind, he does not get a friendly welcome. Nonetheless, he makes sure his son stays silent, without things getting out of hand. It would be great if things could have stayed at this, but Danny decides to ignore his father’s wishes and plans to go and dispose of Mike, to clean up his ‘mess’. When things go bad immediately after Danny decides to kill Jimmy’s son, Jimmy and Mike find themselves running all night from Jimmy’s old friend, Shawn.
With a title as Run All Night, it’s pretty clear that all events will occur during the timeframe of one night, making all action sequences fall in right after another. Nonetheless, the movie sometimes feels rather slow paced, especially at the introduction of all things to come. That being said, the action scenes are quite intense and qualitative, sadly they are supported by a sometimes predictable plot, followed by a rather predictable ending.
In a way Liam Neeson’s character feels like a knockoff from the one of the most popular series’ he starred in, namely Taken. Instead of a retired CIA agent, Neeson now portrays an ex-hitman, who doesn’t shy back from killing a man or two. Again he will find himself defending his family. That being said, it’s fun to see a more ‘dried-up’ grim Neeson who still cares for his family, albeit in a strange fashion.
Overall acting performances are decent, with Liam Neeson and Ed Harris stealing the show. Ed Harris portrays the ideal mobster boss, who suddenly went from friend to enemy, with a proper amount of conviction. Joel Kinnaman, who portrays Mike, is well on his way to becoming a great actor, but for now he still has to make way for the veterans of the industry.
The Blu-ray release doesn’t have any extras that will convince you to buy the movie. That being said, extra information can be found, as well as deleted scenes, which will certainly offer a small amount of entertainment for those who want to see Liam Neeson in action for just that tiny bit longer.
Conclusion
Run All Night is a title that stands well on Liam Neeson’s portfolio and that will certainly offer a proper two hours of entertainment for those who love a good action flick. Whilst the action is top notch, the plot itself moves at quite predictable leaps, hampering the overall experience just slightly. Nonetheless, if you’re in the mood to see a depressed Neeson, this one might tickle your funny bone.
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