Run All Night
Brad Ingelsby
114 mins.
Action, Crime, Drama
March 13, 2015
Rated R for strong violence, language including sexual references, and some drug use. (MPAA)
We see shots of a lake. It’s misty, in a beautiful way. But lying down in the woods is Liam Neeson. He’s bleeding to death. Of course, there’s a voiceover, featuring Neeson, that plays during this scene. He’s full of regrets. But wait a minute, isn’t this supposed to be just another “Taken”-like action crime drama? What’s going on?
In “Run All Night,” director Jaume Collet-Serra once again teams up with Neeson; they previously collaborated on “Unknown” and “Non-Stop.” “Run All Night” is on par with those other films. It’s a couple steps (or more) down from Ben Affleck’s take on the genre, which includes “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town.” But this film aspires to be more than just another action crime drama: Brad Inglesby’s script, like his and Scott Cooper’s script for “Out of the Furnace,” wants to tell a story that’s steeped in family conflict.
This time, Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a man who has turned to the drink in order to deal with his past mistakes. He’s haunted by the violence that he inflicted on others as the muscle of the Irish mob in New York City. Unlike in “Taken,” Neeson’s character isn’t the one with power. Actually, he has to beg the son of his longtime friend for money. That son, Danny Maguire, is a drug dealer and drug user; but his father, Shawn Maguire (played by Ed Harris), still loves him. The father and son don’t see eye-to-eye, though. Shawn has been in the business for 35 years; Danny can’t possibly understand.
Shawn, Danny, and Jimmy bring their problems to the doorstep of Jimmy’s estranged son, Michael (played by Joel Kinnaman). Michael has a wife and kids, runs a boxing gym, and mentors a young black teenager, which has shades of Neeson’s character’s relationship with a different sort of black teen in “A Walk Among the Tombstones.” When Michael is hired to drive Albanian mobsters to meet Danny, things don’t end well; Michael’s caught in the crossfire. So, reluctantly, Michael must accept the help of his father, which allows Neeson to finally go into “Taken” mode. Eventually, the two of them must do what this film’s title says.
Stylistically, “Run All Night” fits in with every other contemporary crime drama. It has lots of dark interiors, and its dialogue is consistent with the kind of macho-man writing that’s intrinsic to the genre. From sequence to sequence, the camera swoops into and around the city. That technique looks like something out of “The Matrix.” In addition, “Run All Night” has all of the requisite scenes that we’ve come to expect from this kind of film: car chases, subway fights, indoor shootouts, and a final showdown outside the city.
In addition, the acting is similarly fitting for the genre. No one embarrasses himself (or herself). Neeson and Harris anchor the film, somewhat, especially in regards to the familial dynamics on display. Kinnaman and Vincent D’Onofrio, as a detective who Jimmy turns to for help, get the job done with minimal fuss. Boyd Holbrook, as Danny, isn’t bad – but you can tell he’s acting. He’s not quite believable, but he’s passable. Common, as Mr. Price, plays a killer who wears glasses for some reason. In his scenes, Common seems to enjoy participating in all of the chasing and shooting. There’s also a surprise appearance by a certain actor as Jimmy’s brother. I wonder who that is?
So, “Run All Night” hits its marks. But its attempt to beef up its story with touches of family drama is overdone. It kind of works as a way to give the film a little more weight than you would otherwise expect it to have, but there’s too much of it. This is not the kind of film that can support all of that. It doesn’t need to be that serious. It needs to be streamlined; it needs to be cleaner. But the pacing is decent, and the actors pull it off … sort of. It’s fine.
Verdict: Decent
About: (Source: runallnight)
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes the action thriller Run All Night, starring Oscar nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Non-Stop), Joel Kinnaman (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Vincent D’Onofrio (The Judge), and Oscar nominee Ed Harris (Pollock, The Hours), under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop).
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon (Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Longtime best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Harris), Jimmy, now 55, is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective (D’Onofrio) who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. Lately, it seems Jimmy’s only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass.
But when Jimmy’s estranged son, Mike (Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. With Mike on the run, Jimmy’s only penance for his past mistakes may be to keep his son from the same fate Jimmy is certain he’ll face himself…at the wrong end of a gun. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy just has one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
Run All Night stars Neeson, Kinnaman, D’Onofrio, Bruce McGill (Ride Along), Genesis Rodriguez (Identity Thief), Boyd Holbrook (HBO’s Behind the Candelabra), Holt McCallany (Gangster Squad), with Common (Now You See Me) and Harris.
Collet-Serra directs from a screenplay by Brad Ingelsby (Out of the Furnace). The film is produced by Roy Lee (The Departed), Brooklyn Weaver (executive producer, Out of the Furnace), and Michael Tadross (Gangster Squad, Sherlock Holmes), with John Powers Middleton (TV’s Bates Motel) serving as executive producer.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Martin Ruhe (The American), production designer Sharon Seymour (Argo), editor Dirk Westervelt (Journey to the Center of the Earth), and costume designer Catherine Marie Thomas (The Heat). The music is by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) (300: Rise of An Empire).
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Vertigo Entertainment production, a Jaume Collet-Serra film, Run All Night. The film is set for release on March 13, 2015, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
