Run All Night

There's no airplane, train, international terrorists, or snow plows, but this Liam Neeson crime-thriller is one of great quality because of the actors involved. I mean please, Neeson vs Ed Harris? Two of my favorite actors of all time, there's no question I was going to enjoy this one. But it really is the dynamic between those two that makes the movie as good as it is. Without the weight of the history between them in this story, you don't get the same impact in the 3rd act when certain things go down. I could have actually used more backstory and flashbacks then we got. There's plenty of homages and inspirations that director Jaume Collet-Serra puts in here, like Mystic River or Heat, which are two of the greatest crime films of all time. I wouldn't say Run All Night gets to that level, but it's nonetheless a thrilling 120 minute ride. And you know, that ending was pretty sweet too.

7.3/10

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.

Fluently put together and entertaining enough for it not to be forgotten as easily as it could have been, yet it falls short in achieving both what it could have and what it promises to, that being a remarkable and unique action thriller.

All of the problems "Run All Night" has seem to tie in together and make just one big problem: it simply does not use its potential and it does not use it exactly because of the problems it has. Firstly it does not use its well defined characters to its advantage and ultimately even fails to stick to some. Moreover way to many times the film descends into ultra-generic territory: I was watching the film, entertained and time and time again what it seemed to be leading up to wasn't as interesting as I wanted it to be, it was a situation I had seen times and times again and I was repeatedly left asking myself "so that was all?". The director also hints at a very original eye for visuals, just as the whole movie hints at a better, more intriguing and surprising film, but ultimately both fail to the delver what they promised. The visual style and editing style had some brief brilliant moments, but for the majority falls into, again, ultra-generic and fast-cut distracting action scene. Way too many times I wondered why hadn't the director shot a scene in another way which could have made it incredibly and vastly more fascinating to watch.

That is not to say that there are many redeemable qualities. First and foremost there is genuine tension mostly because of the well rounded characters for whom I had a surprisingly positive emotional connection and didn't realize so until the end. Helping this is a fantastic cast that delivers the majority of the goods. Neeson is obviously charismatic, he isn't phoning it in, he is giving a heartfelt performance that definitely delivered. Ed Harris is in my opinion one of the best actors of history possibly and this is further proof that he simply can do no wrong, he has a presence on screen that is very hard to match. Even Kinnaman, whom I have been a critic of, is delivering a good enough performance. Lastly, the story doesn't ever realize its potential as I said, but it still makes for a very riveting premise that kept me hooked until the end, despite an overlong duration.

I had a good share of fun and excitement, but I was disappointed to see such a good opportunity ending up being another average film.

Liam Neeson, starring in his his now standard turn of several similar action thrillers. A man with a past given a chance to redeem himself with judicious amounts of crowd-pleasing violence. Perhaps it's unfair to say the Northern Irish actor could phone in this performance from anywhere in the world, as he does it so well, but one can understand those that criticize the actor for repeating himself, with the inevitable diminishing effect at the box office.

Run All Night deserves to be seen as more than just another Liam Neeson early-year actioner. It's a nasty movie with great pace and a strong spine thanks to those two prolific leads. Although it does have some flaws and may drag in between scenes, though as an action thriller it provides the necessary thrills and interest for the viewers.

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!