Run All Night

Liam neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging and borderline alcoholic mob hitman who is forced to protect his son from his former boss Shawn Maguire played by the always excellent Ed Harris. It's a satisfying blend of character drama and gritty, violent action. One of the things i really liked was nothing was overly spectacular and silly which gives the movie a more gritty and realistic feel. The action is quick, brutal and not glamorized and the dialogue feels like things real people would say during regular conversation as well, it gets annoying in movies sometimes when characters are spouting one liners like clowns.

Liam Neeson is solid as always and believable as a hard man who is passed his prime but will kill to protect his son even though he knows there's no way it's going to end happy for himself. He's either going to die or spend the rest of his life in prison but he doesn't care as long as his boy is safe. When he lays a guy out flat with one punch with a broken nose and missing teeth you know his character is more than capable of doing it. The story isn't really anything you haven't seen before but it's a well made movie with good performances and the action scenes are filmed in a simple no frills style with no annoying shakey cam. Definitely a good time for fans of Neeson, Ed Harris and tough action thrillers.

One of the better action movies I've seen in a while. Great characters - great acting and interesting story line. I really liked this film and I don't understand why this movie does not get better reviews. unlike a lot of the popular glitzy action films, this one leaves a memory of what it was really about. The camera work was great and incorporated some of the best and most believable action scenes I have experienced. The language was fitting and not overpopulated with Fbombs. The story line is easy to follow. The soundtrack is appropriate without a lot of unnecessary crashing and banging, or a way over the top, or overpowering soundtrack. Definitely a good film.

Before you dismiss the latest Liam Neeson action movie 'Run All Night' as yet another iteration of 'Taken', let us reassure you that there is much more to this mob thriller than meets the eye. True, Neeson plays a former man of violence with a 'particular set of skills' who is forced to employ them in order to save his family, but that's about where the similarities end. Indeed, while that franchise never quite had any ambition than as a glorified B-movie, this latest team-up between Neeson and his 'Unknown' and 'Non-Stop' collaborator Jaume Collet- Serra proves itself as an impressive amalgamation of the Oscar- nominated dramatic skills on which his earlier career was built on and his more recent kickassery.

Brad Inglesby's script starts by giving us a glimpse of Neeson after the fateful events of the titular evening – that is, lying in a forest and bleeding from a shotgun wound – before rewinding sixteen hours before to fill us in. As we soon learn, Neeson's Jimmy Conlon wasn't in a much better state before his most recent run-in with mob boss and childhood friend Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) that had led to his current predicament. An alcoholic mocked by the denizens at the local pub for farting in his sleep, the former Brooklyn hit-man was once Shawn's trusty right-hand man, but has now been reduced to playing Santa at the latter's son's birthday party for quick cash, which he spends drowning his guilt over the people he has killed and the family he has alienated through the years.

As bad luck would have it, Jimmy's estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), who only wants to take care of his pregnant wife and two young kids and to have nothing to do with his father, stumbles upon Danny executing two Albanian drug dealers. When Danny turns up at Mike's house, Jimmy intervenes to save his son and ends up killing Danny, setting in motion the subsequent series of events which will see father and son move through New York City while being pursued by Danny's men – including a professional assassin named Price (Common) who has his own grudge with Jimmy – as well as crooked cops looking to stay on Shawn's payroll.

Rather than just skip to the chase, Collet-Serra and his screenwriter Inglesby invest in a more character-driven narrative than may be expected. A pivotal scene has Jimmy confessing to Danny's murder shortly after Shawn returns from the morgue to identify his son's body, which poignantly expresses not just one father's grief (and consequent thirst for revenge) from the death of his son but also another father's paternal instinct to protect his family by whatever means possible. Whereas 'Taken' (pardon the pun) the latter for granted, Collet-Serra wisely lets the polarising dynamic between Jimmy and Shawn define the conflict that ensues, giving both characters and their longstanding friendship turned brutal rivalry both shading and nuance.

Lest it be forgotten, Neeson and Harris are both accomplished actors in their own right, and both manage to find their characters' empathetic core. Collet-Serra understands Neeson's 'particular set of skills' in playing the fallible hero, and gives his lead actor space and breadth to explore his character's vulnerabilities and motivations – even bringing in an unbilled Nick Nolte to add patriarchal weight to the proceedings. Kinnaman doesn't get enough quiet scenes with Neeson for their father-son relationship to develop into something truly compelling, but the actors share a good rapport that give the action scenes added emotional texture.

And in that department, Collet-Serra doesn't disappoint. Reining in the hand-held shots that made the last 'Taken 3' an absolute nightmare to watch even on the big screen, Collet-Serra fashions a couple of impressive sequences that make full use of its New York locale. A thrilling cop-car chase through the streets of Brooklyn easily puts 'Taken 3's' highway chase to shame, while a high-rise apartment complex on fire provides a tense backdrop against which Jimmy and Mike attempt to protect a kid witness. There is also the iconic Madison Square Garden, which provides the scene for a daring escape right after a Rangers-Devils game, and heightens the Big Apple atmosphere while keeping the gritty noir-ish feel of the earlier scenes.

It is certainly tempting to see this as yet another attempt to cash in on Neeson's newfound action hero status, but 'Run All Night' distinguishes itself with some well-filmed setpieces to satisfy the adrenaline-hungry crowd while staying grounded with enough characterisation and good acting for its audience to be rooted with the characters on screen. It is also his best collaboration yet with Collet-Serra, who seems genuinely interested at making a movie tailored to the actor's strengths than simply cashing in on a fad. Even and especially if you were disillusioned with 'Taken 3', 'Run All Night' is a good, solid slab of macho entertainment that should wash away the bitter taste of that over-the-hill franchise.

Liam Neeson plays retired hit-man, James Conlon, and it's one of the finest roles he's played in years with a great performance, and with additional superb acting from Joel Kinnaman, whom plays his son, Mike Conlon. The first 'Taken' may have turned out great, until it launched a franchise, but 'Run All Night' is a definite improvement over Neeson's latest work, and a major improvement over clichéd action movies released in the past decade. What makes it so good, is that Neeson brings company with him: his co-star Kinnaman who plays his son - and it's a different movie experience altogether as in most clichéd action thrillers the main protagonist, usually played by a familiar action star, is usually without company the whole way through. The character James Conlon is so similar to Jimmy Bobo, a part Sylvester Stallone played in a movie called 'Bullet to the Head'. Jimmy Bobo was an ageing hit-man who still made hits on assignments, but compared to Conlon, he's more emotionless and merciless. Neeson's Conlon still had good in his heart somewhere, whereas Bobo cared more about killing and seeking vengeance. However, the action sequences are enjoyable and thrilling, acting is great and the direction and screen writing becomes intriguing whenever the main plot kicks in - so Run All Night has what it takes of being one of the most exciting movies of the year!

Liam Neeson is back yet again with another action film. Some will claim this is another Taken film, and maybe he is cashing in big time on his success from that franchise, but the story in this film is much deeper overall than the recent Taken films, and the acting is absolutely amazing. With some great acting and a good story overall, Liam Neeson and the legendary Ed Harris deliver a must see film for any movie fan. The following is my review of Run All Night.

Run All Night was written by writer Brad Ingelsby who is very well known for his fabulous work on the 2013 film Out of the Furnace. I actually did not know that going into the film, after seeing he did write the film, I'm not surprised the characters were so greatly written. The story follows Mobster Shawn Maguire(Ed Harris) and his longtime friend and hit man Jimmy Conlon(Liam Neeson). These two have been friends for a great many years, even decades. Now that they are older and have children, things aren't exactly the same, more so for Jimmy. While Shawn is still very much close to his son Danny(Boyd Holbrook), Jimmy hasn't spoken to his son Mike(Joel Kinnaman) in several years. One night Mike has a big job as a limo driver, but the people he is driving around get into some dirt that makes Mike and Jimmy enemies with Shawn. Shawn promises to hunt Mike and Shawn down and kill them, and their family members because of the death of his son. The story is very rich in characters, and you actually care about them. While the film is nearly two hours, you honestly aren't looking at your watch at all. The film flows by perfectly because of the amazing writing by Brad Ingelsby. Overall, Ingelsby does another fabulous job of writing in this film, and his efforts on this film should not be overlooked.

The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who is no stranger to working with Liam Neeson on action films. He previously worked with Neeson on Unknown and last years Non-Stop. The action in this film is not exactly a great deal, but easily much more than last years Non-Stop. There are some fabulous hand to hand combat action scenes, and even one heck on a chase scene. Though the chase scene can be convoluted because of some shaky cam work. Collett-Serra delivers this nice way of changing location in the film from scene to scene by zooming out of the current scene and showing a high rise city view, then slowly zooming in on the new location. While this clever way of changing might have been slightly overused, it was used perfectly and if something different. The acting was really another great aspect of the film, and when you have two legends like Ed Harris and Liam Neeson on the screen together, of course great things will happen. Neeson and Harris really play great off of each other, and you really believe the story as it plays out. The film also features great acting from Joel Kinnaman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and even Common fits in nicely with his small but important role in the film. With mostly great action and absolutely fabulous acting, Collett-Serra and Neeson have easily delivered another epic action film that will live on for many years to come.

The film was composed by composer Junkie XL who is well known for working with legendary composer Hans Zimmer. He recently scored films such as Divergent and 300: Rise of an Empire, and will be scoring next years Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The score XL delivers is nothing great nor something I would claim is memorable, but his work here easily adds some much needed depth in the bigger action scenes. There are some interesting things he does throughout the film, and this is easily a score I will be going back to listen to over and over for the next few weeks to see if it grows on me even more. Junkie XL doesn't deliver the greatest score to an action film, but the score is still very much top notch.

In closing, this is a very enjoyable film, which is certainly worth the price of admission. I personally spent almost ten dollars on this film and still feel I got my money's worth and then some. The replay value seems to be high with not only the great visuals from the directing angle, but also from the great performances from the actors. Fans of films in general should put this film on on your list to watch, certainly a must see film.

8/10