© 2015 WARNER BROS.
3.5/4 Stars
Rated R
Starring: Liam Neeson and Ed Harris
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Liam Neeson found new life as an action hero in the Taken trilogy. In them, he played Bryan Mills, a retired CIA black ops agent rescuing his daughter from Albanian gangsters. They are planning to sell her as a sex slave to a Middle Eastern oil sheik. To avert this dreaded prospect, Mills would need to reprise his dormant skills as a trained assassin.
A small-budget affair, Taken was expected to be released straight to video. However, it became a surprise hit. The artistic quality of the series spiraled progressively downward. The marketing campaign for Taken 3 was based on a promise that audiences would not be subjected to any further episodes.
So is Run All Night just a cynical effort to repackage the tired tropes of the Taken franchise? It’s an altogether reasonable suspicion. However, it turns out that this film jettisons the played-out formula of the Taken trilogy, cramming a fast-paced storyline into a 16-hour span. In an introductory framing device, Jimmy Conlon (Neeson) is flat on his back, seemingly shot and dying. In a voice-over, Jimmy reflects, “I’ve done terrible things in my life, things for which I cannot be forgiven.”
The film flashes back to the prior day: For decades, Jimmy had been a feared hitman for Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), a Brooklyn-based crime lord. Growing up together, the two men had forged a close friendship. Now, Jimmy is haunted by thoughts of the men he has killed and has become a pathetic alcoholic. He’s fighting an uphill battle to survive financially and psychologically.
Prodded by Shawn, Jimmy implores Shawn’s coke-addled son, Danny (Boyd Holbrook), for a loan. Danny agrees to spot him some cash. However, there is one stipulation. Danny subjects Jimmy to the humiliating task of dressing up as Santa Claus at a family affair. It’s more than Jimmy can handle. He gets smashed and falls down drunk at the party.
Meanwhile, we meet Jimmy’s only son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman from the TV series “The Killing”). He’s deeply embittered and estranged from his father, even though they both live in Brooklyn. Mike studiously avoids contact with his dad. Much to Jimmy’s chagrin, Mike even bars his father from ever meeting his granddaughters.
A former prizefighter, Mike volunteers at a local gym. There he mentors Curtis (Aubrey Joseph), a fatherless young African American boy who aspires to become a pugilist. Mike and his emotionally well-grounded wife, Gabriela (Genesis Rodriguez), are raising two young daughters (Giulia Cicciari, Carrington Meyer). Mike is consumed with not being a negligent absentee father like he perceives Jimmy was.
In his job as a chauffeur Mike transports Victor Grezda (Radivoje Bukvic), an Albanian gangster to Danny’s house. To weasel out of a debt, Danny kills Victor and his sidekick. Mike has the misfortune of witnessing the murder. Danny is about to eliminate Mike. However, Jimmy shows up and preemptively kills Danny.
Now things go topsy turvy. Aggrieved by his son’s shooting, Shawn demands vengeance in the form of Mike’s death. How will Jimmy sort out his conflicting loyalties? Can Jimmy escape his drunken stupor long enough to recover his faded skills as a gunman? Will Mike even trust his father to help him? A nuanced screenplay by Brad Ingelsby (Out of the Furnace) does an excellent job of exploring these dynamics. He provides well-drawn characters and resonant dialogue.
Run All Night affords Neeson an opportunity to portray a character who has more than two dimensions. After three Takens and several other misfires (we’re looking at you, Third Person and Non-Stop), it was easy to forget that Neeson is an accomplished thespian. Of course, Harris offers great screen presence as Jimmy’s closest friend, now turned antagonist.
The impressive cast also includes Nick Nolte as Jimmy’s brother, Vincent D’Onofrio, a police detective who has long tried to bring Jimmy to justice; Bruce McGill as Shawn’s right-hand man; and Common as an assassin hired to kill Jimmy. Even the lesser-known actors like Bukvic, Rodriguez and Joseph offer textured performances.
Run All Night is much better than a standard-issue run-and-gun flick. It is a top-notch Irish American noir crime drama.
