The release of Cold Pursuit has been overshadowed by it’s star’s inappropriate remarks. Whether Liam Neeson is a racist, I have no idea, but I’m not sure that it will make much difference to the film’s box office returns.
He is in familiar mode from recent years. A mild-mannered, law-abiding citizen who resorts to violence when his family is torn apart. This time, he looks to avenge the death of his son by killing the gang of drug dealers who are responsible for it. As he works his way up through the gang before the inevitable showdown with the leader of it, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this a purely run-of-the-mill actioner.
However, it is based on a 2014 Norwegian movie, Kraftidioten, and with the same director, Hans Petter Moland, it shares it’s very black humour. Whilst Neeson plays it completely straight and a lot of the violence is pretty graphic, their skewed tone keeps it fresh and surprising. It does flag just a little in the second half, and could have been trimmed a little, but this is one that will reward several watches.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10