Run All Night” is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film stars Liam
Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris.
Liam Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging hit man who seems to be trying
to come to terms (and failing) with the bad things that he has done in
his life for Irish Mob boss Shawn Maguire(Ed Harris). Jimmy and his son
Mike (Joel Kinnamen) have no relationship, and Jimmy is alone in the
world except for Shawn.
In a convoluted story line, Shawns son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) tries to
“prove himself” to his father by arranging a deal with some drug running
Albanians, but since Shawn has taken his business away from dealing with
anything to do with drugs because of the people he has lost over that
sort of business, Shawn refuses the deal.
Things quickly head south, and in an even more convoluted story line,
Danny ends up dead, by Jimmys’ hand.
Shawn vows to get even, and the remainder of the movie is spent in car
chases, shoot outs, burning buildings, near escapes, and deaths.
I was pulled into the movie, and found myself caring what happened to
the main characters.
It was rather predictable, in the way that all “Mob” movies are
predictable, with the shooting and car chases etc.
What wasn’t so predictable was the amount of “caring” that Neeson was
able to project and portray and how invested he was able to make me as
an audience member. He played the part of an aging, emotionally and
physically beat down guy, with regrets about his relationship with his
son, trying against all odds to “make it right” this one last time, to
protect his family, at any cost to himself. I was pulling for him to be
able to get it done.
The one part of the movie that i didn’t like was the “swooping” with the
camera angles, when jumping (literally) from one scene or location to
the next in the movie. I found it to be dizzying and I had to close my
eyes until those parts were done.
I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Second Review By
By Sasha Glenn
In “Run All Night” Liam Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a man who spent his life as a hit man and is starting to feel the toll of time.
Facing the consequences of having missed out on the things that matter most in life, Conlon is a man full of sadness and regret.
The son he once abandoned, Mike Conlon (Joel Kinnaman), doesn’t want anything to do with him. The faces of those he killed haunt his psyche, making sober life almost unbearable.
His son Mike, a hardworking family-man ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. This leads to him and his father being hunted all night by the very people Jimmy had worked for.
Choosing to star Neeson in a role like this, especially so close to the release of “Taken 3,” unfortunately makes the film come off as a bit too familiar.
But at this point, one thing is for sure – don’t mess with Liam Neeson’s family, or at least not his characters’ families.
Of course, “Run All Night” does have a different plot, but Neeson’s character is very much the same as in his past films.
Typecasting in this way is quite common in Hollywood, and it’s not always a bad thing. Neeson has become well known for his quality performance as an unstoppable man in action films. Fans of Neeson will continue to enjoy watching him kick butt on the silver screen.
However, the performance of Common may leave some people with mixed feelings. He plays Mr. Price, a hit man hired to kill Jimmy and his boy. His blank stare will either work to convince the audience of his deadliness, or it will completely derail the believability of his character.
Because it is an “Action” film, it gets away with having a few inconsistencies and brief moments that may come off as cheesy. But most of all, it is filled with non-stop action. Once the chase begins, it does not stop for a second as Mike and Jimmy literally run all night.
The violence is definitely not sparse. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and realistic, mixing brutal street style moves with some martial arts.
I give “Run All Night” 3.0 out of 5 stars,
