Cold Pursuit

This film was not what I was expecting but once I understood and came to grips with the fact it was a dark comedy, in a Fargo-esque sort of way, and a parody of revenge killing films, rather than meant to be taken seriously other than for its beautiful absurdity, I started to really enjoy it.

The whole movie was fun escapism with gratuitous violence, and hyper-exaggerated cliché portrayals of Native Americans, crime bosses and average men being local heroes, etc. Not to mention an exponentially growing kill tally. What is not to love?

It was a special treat for those of us that live in Denver, as although much of the movie was supposed to take place here, none of the neighborhoods, architecture, streets, buildings, trees, landscaping, mountain ranges, etc. matched anything close to what really exists in Denver. I spent the entire movie looking for something I could place as actually being in Denver, but I came up empty. Instead, a totally fictitious version thereof was portrayed (too surreal to match any actual city I am aware of, but closer to a blend of the more affluent parts of Los Angeles and Vancouver than Denver, with world class architecture and night clubs) which fit in perfectly with the artfully crafted alternative universe intended to be created. Like the bizarre relationships between the characters, I slowly began to realize that what first appeared to be a sloppy annoyance was in fact an intentional critique of the genre and actually a quite clever game with the audience.

Many will undoubtedly knock this film for being unrealistic, absurd, over the top, culturally insensitive, and with settings that did not match named cities (at least those such as Denver that actually exist). Those people just failed to see that was the entire point. You shouldn't go in expecting to see realism, complex character development, suspense and drama, or something akin to Taken. Instead, go in expecting to see a dark comedy parody film. Think Fargo meets Peppermint, with a wink to Quentin Tarantino in honor of his impact on modern cinema.

I would suggest before you watch this or think about watching it: go and watch the original! Way better, way funnier (darker) and feels generally better in tone. Now obviously some may think this is Taken or like Taken - it is not. Which makes some of the people watching this already mad. Especially because they don't know the movie this is based on.

I can only urge you so much to watch the other movie. Which doesn't mean this is bad. The movie this takes its cues from was too good for them to mess the remake up. The actors here try their best though and if you don't care for subtitles (which many will need since it is not in English, the Original that is), you could do far worse.

Went to see a popcorn flick. Laughed out loud at the Fargo style humor. I want to drive my car into a chandelier Persian carpet style garage. Loved the credits. Very different. Macabe. It's really dark. Not your typical Liam Neeson flick.

In a snow drenched ski town in Colorado. Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) a snow plough driver's world is disintegrating after his son dies of a suspected drug overdose.

When Nels discovers that his son was murdered, he goes after revenge against the drug gang who were involved in his son's death. Nels manages to orchestrate a gang war.

Cold Pursuit is a remake of the Norwegian film, In Order Of Disappearance. It is better than Neeson's recent action fare since he hit unexpected bullseye in Taken.

The movie has hard action in a bleak snowy landscape. It also has a lot of black humour making it rather quirky and offbeat.

Some thought has gone into the movie and the characters. As if the makers were deconstructing Neeson's other revenge thrillers and playing around with the tropes.

The thing with most Liam Neeson actioners these days is that their screenplays solely depend on his tough guy demeanor to keep the proceedings engaging. Cold Pursuit, another Liam Neeson actioner on the onset, is entertaining but for reasons not pertaining to the set pieces alone. Don't get me wrong, the set pieces are very much there but this film doesn't go the typical Hollywood remake route.

While I haven't watched the Norwegian original (In The Order of Disappearance; the name choice a lot more suitable for the film), it sure seems like the material writer Kim Fupz Aakeson and director Hans Petter Molland (who has directed the remake as well) had in hand was worthy of a re-telling. While there are some sly remarks made by baddie characters in the film that are sure to turn some sections of the viewers off (in fact, in-your-face offensive at times), everyone who does so eventually gets the 'treatment' they deserve, which was satisfying as hell.

The crude humor takes a while to arrive, as the incident that sets the storyline in motion is a grim one: the son of a snow-plow operator is found dead during a snowy winter in Kehoe and he decides to find out who's behind it. More characters are unveiled, while some begin to 'disappear'. A title card with the respective character's name shows up every time a 'disappearance' occurs (innovative!). I couldn't help but laugh out loud at instances such as the 'Coxman reference' joke, the whole 'Eskimo' scene, and of course, the 'motel' scene. You'll know when you've watched!

And yet, amid all that, you have a brilliantly written scene featuring Nels (Liam Neeson) bonding with the chief baddie's son in a "Tell me a story so that I can sleep" situation. It does its bit in showing us that even as Nels goes about enacting his vengeance, he still has a heart that yearns for the son that he lost. The climactic showdown is executed well and ends on a rather 'unexpectedly funny' note. I know of Neeson's 'racist' comments and the controversy surrounding it, but I can't deny the fact that his performance was pretty good in this movie, as he always gives a 100% even when the scripts offered to him are mediocre.

It's easy to write off 'Cold Pursuit' as cliched, predictable action-drama, but the clever undercurrent of dark humour does the trick at least for some of us. This film was very much in Tarantino-Coen-Zahler territory (minus the subtlety, of course!). I adore both Emmy Rossum and Laura Dern, and am of the opinion that they should've had better-written roles in the movie. 'Cold Pursuit' meanders a bit in its storytelling and is indeed more fascinating in fragments than as a whole, but you can give it a watch if you're a fan of black comedies.