Score: 2/5
The Liam Neeson phenomena attracts viewers to the movies every time he accepts a new role because he has become a pinnacle of action-adventure in Hollywood. Unfortunately, most films featuring Neeson are average at best.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra’s new movie “Run All Night” perfectly exemplifies this habit of using a method actor far too many times in similar roles.
After the “Taken” trilogy, Neeson has been branded as the violent, ruthless yet somehow lovable action character that can be rivaled by no enemy, even if they are stronger, larger, younger and generally more powerful.
While this sort of persona has worked for the actor in recent years, Neeson is starting to follow in Nicolas Cage’s footsteps in accepting any mediocre scripts that comes across his desk.
The unimpressive “Run All Night” follows a drunken Jimmy Conlon, played by Neeson, trying to save his son from his best friend, New York gangster Shawn Maguire played by Ed Harris.
Conlon’s son Michael witnessed Maguire’s son, Danny, murder two men, thus becoming a loose end, and Jimmy is forced to kill Danny when he tries to kill his son, making an enemy of his former best friend.
Conlon and his son have no choice but to literally run all night from the men, gangsters as well as cops, trying to hunt them down.
As any other stereotypical action movie, the film is full of unrealistic escapes from danger and bland dialogue between an estranged father and son. While the acting throughout the movie is not altogether terrible, there is nothing particularly distinctive about the plot. It is as forgettable as the second and third “Taken” movies.
If anything, “RoboCop” star Joel Kinnaman, as Michael Conlon, is beginning to establish himself as a notable face in the action-adventure genre, but his acting quality has yet to surface without a great script to get behind. It is unclear whether or not Kinnaman will develop into a box office draw, but there is definite potential.
Meanwhile, Neeson needs to quickly decide whether or not he wants to spend the rest of his career chasing his past or move on to a higher caliber of film.
Though every actor needs to work to survive, Neeson is better than the films he has been featured in, and “Run All Night” is no exception.