RUN ALL NIGHT
(director: Jaume Collet-Serra; screenwriter: Brad Ingelsby; cinematographer: Martin Ruhe; editor: Dirk Westervelt; music: Tom Holkenborg; cast: Liam Neeson (Jimmy Conlon), Ed Harris (Shawn Maguire), Joel Kinnaman (Mike Conlon), Boyd Holbrook (Danny Maguire), Bruce McGill (Pat Mullen), Genesis Rodriguez (Gabriela Conlon), Vincent D’Onofrio (Detective John Harding), Lois Smith (Margaret Conlon), Common (Andrew Price), Aubrey Omari Joseph (Legs), Daniel Stewart Sherman (Brendan), Beau Knapp (Kenan Boyle), Nick Nolte (Uncle Ed), Rasha Bukvic (Albanian drug dealer); Runtime: 110; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Roy Lee, Brooklyn Weaver, Michael Tadross; Warner Bros; 2015)
“An edgy Brooklyn Irish mob hit man thriller.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An edgy Brooklyn Irish mob hit man thriller directed with some force by Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non-Stop”/”Unknown”). It’s written by Brad Ingelsby, whose sctreenplay credo is that “ no sin goes unpunished.” Liam Neeson and Ed Harris as aging brooding mobster friends, who have a fatal falling out over their sons, are both terrific as caring fathers who failed their sons. A few sentimental tropes take the pic down a few notches. But the action scenes are well-staged, street life in the Big Apple sizzles and the story is tight.Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) is the 62-year-old world-weary retired hitman, who now has a guilt-trip for all his terrible deeds. The lonely man is estranged from his nice-guy family man limo driver son Mike (Joel Kinnaman), who resents that dad is a gangster and was never there for him when he was growing up. When the volatile Danny (Boyd Holbrook), the lowlife son of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), now into only legit businesses, does business with a sleazy Albanian drug dealer (Rasha Bukvic) against his father’s wishes, he ends up killing the foreigner over a money dispute. When Mike, in his limo, witnesses the hit, Shawn goes after him despite told by his dad not to. To save his son, Jimmy has to kill Danny. When he calls Shawn to tell him the daunting news the mobster bristles and declares war on both Jimmy and Mike, even threatening Mike’s Hispanic wife (Genesis Rodriguez) and their two young daughters. The well-paced, solid story, brings out great action scenes and endearing emotional family scenes. It takes place during the course of one night, where both dads feel they must do everything in their power to either avenge or protect their sons. In the background, there are colorful shots of NYC in 1996 that include playoff hockey at MSG, a shoot-out in a high-rise housing project and a crazed hitman (Common), who tracks Mike down in his upstate country vacation home. Even though the results are predictable, the recycled thriller remained tense throughout.Vincent D’Onofrio has a good part as the dogged honest cop hounding Liam for his past life of crime, where he earned the nickname “The Gravedigger” and always beat jail time.
REVIEWED ON 5/31/2016 GRADE: B