Run All Night is a film that is just about perfect...for it's genre. Yes, that does in fact make a difference. This genre is the "Over 50 year old man who can kick ass" genre. Now every movie in this genre I feel loads the character development at the beginning,an doesn't spread it out. Here we have Liam Neeson playing Jimmy Conlon, a man who has killed,and regrets it. His son gets into trouble with the son of Jimmy's former partner leading to the partner's son dying. Ed Harris who plays the partner decides to go after both Jimmy and his son, and sends the police after them too. Now the characters,and situation are set up. Now what these films do is put these characters through a sequence of action set pieces not allowing them to develop much more. This becomes a problem because while the films are exciting they also become very shallow. Now the same happens with Run All Night. The film slowly becomes quite shallow,but boy does it fight like a mad dog not to. This can be attributed to a couple of things: 1. The strong set up. The set up is preposterous,but it sticks with you. It's just really fun,and gives a good reason for some great set pieces especially one that happens in the woods. 2. The actors. Jimmy is set up to have a lot of regret,and what really keeps him interesting is the fact that Neeson shows every single bit of that. Neeson has always been a really nice dramatic actor,and I was glad to see that he was able to use that in this film. There's a great scene where he talks to Ed Harris (also doing great work) in a restaurant. The men sit,and talk, flaunting their acting skills in the process. It's a nice surprise in a film like this. Joel Kinnaman plays the son,and I'm surprised to see some nuanced work out of the man who played the new Robocop (which by the way he kind of sucked at). 3. The action.There are a couple of scenes that seem a little shaky,but the action here is coherent and convincing enough to keep the film exciting even as it tapers off near the end. All of these things combined with the formula that fit's this genre creates an exciting if not fully satisfying experience. I give Run All Night an 8 out of 10. Reviewed by Stephen Tronicek.
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AuthorI am a 17 year old film enthusiast that is happy to be sharing my opinions on this site. Archives
March 2016
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