RUN ALL NIGHT

2015 / Director. Jaume Collet-Serra.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

"You can't win 'em all". Those were the words going through my mind when leaving the cinema. The trailer for RUN ALL NIGHT played really well and promised a stylish, fast-paced action thriller... sadly the film doesn't deliver and it is more of an uninspired, bland and lackluster movie masquerading as a hard-edged nail-biter. Set amongst the seedy underworld of Brooklyn, Liam Neeson and Ed Harris play two mobsters. Harris is a highly respected mob-boss (turned legitimate businessman) while Neeson is his childhood friend and former hitman. Their friendship takes a sudden turn when Neeson is forced to shoot and kill Harris's son. Naturally things heat up and the streets become a war zone of retribution. The film put me off side from the get go with its stupid scene transitions, which see the camera zoom across the city, in and out of streets, from one scene to another. These dumb interludes feel forced and desperate, as though the final cut of the film fell flat in post production and they needed a quick fix to spruce it up. Liam Neeson appears on screen with the suggestion of something a little different in terms of performance, however when the action kicks in he resorts to his regular schtick. If you've seen him in TAKEN, NON-STOP, UNKNOWN or any of his other recent action movies then you will know exactly what to expect from him. The action itself is fairly mundane and the performances reflect their surroundings. Despite an impressive cast which also features Vincent D'onofrio, they all phone it in. What irritated me the most is that despite all of these criticisms I might have found some entertainment value from it with at least one likable character. Instead they're all as equally loathsome as each other. Even the good guys are smarmy and arrogant with absolutely no inkling of charm or charisma. I wasn't able to relate to any of them and I felt disconnected from the entire film. I suppose I will give it another lash when it reaches home entertainment to see if I get more out of it... but for now I will banish it to Turdtown.

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