Stars Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Boyd Holbrook, Brian ‘Astro’ Bradley Directed by Scott Frank Liam Neeson’s ex-cop turned Private Investigator here may suffer a little from the Frank Mills backlash that has also thrown thrillers such as Unknown and Non Stop our way. After the whole kicking-ass-and-taking-names roundabout, Matthew Scudder may seem like a breath of fresh air to Neeson, although ultimately, there is a young girl in danger who needs some rescuing after dealing with the kidnappers over the phone in that super serious gravelly tone. What works here is the script and direction by Scott Frank who gives this 80s set thriller a nice dash of film noir. He also pulls out a more solid performance from Neeson, given the formula they’re working in. The pacing is a little languid at first as Scudder (Neeson) is initially hired by a drug dealer to find out who murdered his wife. Along the way, Scudder also has to deal with a young man (Brian ‘Astro’ Bradley) who wants to become Scudder’s partner. While the pace picks up once the ticking clock of another kidnapping/ransom situation is raised, the situation is made far more tense as Scudder already has an inkling of who he’s dealing with. The editing and direction of the first half belies the pot-boiler nature of the private investigation which might have been slower and more calculating under another’s direction, but Frank gives it a tone of urgency that keeps the viewer’s attention. Add to that Neeson’s gravitas for the damaged Scudder and you’ve got a movie punching above it’s class. Aside from Neeson, most of the cast is made up of slightly lesser known stars who are recognisable character actors. They do very well in building the world the story is set in and the casting is fairly spot on. But this is very much Neeson’s show, a way to prove that the Taken franchise is simply a blip of adrenaline rush from a star who started out as dramatic actor with a heavyweight persona. Rating: ***1/2 / 5
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
December 2017
|