Surely by now you've heard the jokes that Run All Night just looks like another of his Taken movies. That kind of comment has been unavoidable since the trailers were designed to resemble another "kill everybody and save the family" flick. In fact, when the trailer for Run All Night played in front of the abysmal Taken 3, the people behind me swore it was for Taken 4 and they were not being facetious. But the truth is that Neeson, who by now has perfected the grizzled, vengeful crusader routine to a tee, tries to do something a little different when he works with Unknown and Non-Stop director, Jaume Collet-Serra.
Run All Night marks their third collaboration and it's a down 'n dirty, hardboiled actioner, completely workmanlike and predictable in execution. What sets it apart from Neeson's other flicks is the character he plays, that of drunken, deadbeat dad Jimmy Conlon. For once we see Neeson play a hardcore killer who is a complete screw-up in other aspects of his life. Jimmy spent his life as an infamous hitman known as "the Gravedigger", working for New York mob boss and longtime friend Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). When we first meet Jimmy he's a total loser begging Shawn's egotistical son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) for cash and being forced to dress as Santa Claus. It takes some getting used to Neeson as such a pitiful character, but of course we know it can't last long. Jimmy may have lost his way but his son Mike (Joel Kinnaman) walks the straight and narrow, working with troubled kids at a boxing gym and working hard to support his growing family. But it's not easy, and Jimmy resents the life his father leads.
Of course that murderous life is also what saves Mike when the chips are down. After witnessing Danny's murder of some foreign drug dealers, Mike is a target for execution himself, only to have daddy come to the rescue and kill Danny. On the list of "best ways to ruin a friendship", killing your best friend's son ranks somewhere near the top, and Shawn puts out a hit on Jimmy and his boy. Cue the dirty cops and henchmen who pursue Jimmy and Mike all across New York's mean streets, while an obsessed detective (Vincent D'Onofrio, hammy as ever) is always one step behind. It would be nice if movies like this would just leave the police out of the equation completely. What's their purpose? Here they get mowed down left and right, make ridiculous errors in judgement....they're like cinematic packing peanuts.
Some great moments are found every time Harris and Neeson share the screen, elevating what turns out to be a plodding screenplay by Brad Inglesby. He's the guy whose unimpressive screenplay ruined Out of the Furnace's all-star cast, and he's completely unable to make Run All Night stand out in any way, too. Far too often the film doesn't really go anywhere, and when it does the direction it goes is purely rote. Plus, it's hard to escape the feeling that the run time has been padded out by scenes that have nothing to do with anything. It's like Non-Stop all over again. Nick Nolte has a cup of coffee late in the film as a random uncle, but his presence is unnecessary and leads to another scene that simply wastes time. Aren't these guys being chased by vicious killers? Where's the urgency? That time would have been better spent with more action because there isn't nearly enough. What we get is actually pretty good, including one terrific car chase and a tense escape from an apartment building. Collet-Serra isn't a director anybody would label as particularly creative, but there's a certain film noir sturdiness to the world he's able to build. However he does make a couple of odd choices, including the use of a zooming flyover screen to transition between scenes. It's like somebody turned replaced Run All Night with footage from their GPS.
Inglesby is rescued a little by Neeson, who for once plays a character that isn't invincible. Sure, he flips into "Neeson Tough Guy Mode" pretty quick but in-between Jimmy kicking ass he's a father trying to atone. Kinnaman comes off as a little whiny as his son, but he's better served than other wasted talents like Nolte, Genesis Rodriguez, and Common. Poor Common. The recent Oscar-winner plays Price, a particularly skillful assassin defined by his use of infrared gadgets. In a film full of hard-boiled, grounded characters Price comes off like a cartoon.Run All Night isn't just another Taken movie, but Neeson's fans will see enough similarity to enjoy it, while those who wish he'd do something different may want to look elsewhere.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
