Written by Tom Moore
While he may have had more memorable dramatic roles, Liam Neeson has slowly become a recognizable name in the world of action movies. Over the years, Neeson has played a father hunting down people who have kidnapped his daughter, a flight marshal attempting to figure out who is hijacking the plane he is on, and even a train commuter thrown into a mysterious plot.
Frankly, Neeson probably would have been thrown into some movie where he’d try to get revenge for his dog if John Wick hadn’t beaten him to the punch. At a first glance, Neeson’s latest outing, Cold Pursuit, looks to follow the same formula as Neeson’s past work and for the first third of the film, and it basically does.
Neeson plays Nels Coxman, a Colorado snow plow driver whose son is murdered by a group of gangsters. Coxman takes things into his own hands and begins to get revenge on those who have murdered his son. However, around the third kill or so, things change noticeably. Usually, these kinds of Neeson movies, arguably, take themselves too seriously and forget to have much fun. They pretty much only have the spotlight on Neeson, and audiences basically just watch him kill people for an hour or two. Cold Pursuit, however, does the opposite, instead giving viewers hilariously dark humor, memorable and engaging side characters, and an immense amount of creativity director Hans Petter Moland’s part.
Cold Pursuit is actually a remake of Moland’s 2014 Norwegian film, In Order of Disappearance. Now, while I can’t speak on whether Cold Pursuit does his previous film justice; I can say that Cold Pursuit owned all of my attention thanks to Moland’s style. He makes great use of the harsh, snowy environment that will make you feel cold just from seeing it and the film has amazing set design that will entrance viewers. Not to mention, he uses title cards to denote when a character has died and even places a symbol that represents their religion, their real name, and their gangster name. This makes each person that bites the dust feel more like a person and gives meaning to their deaths rather than just part of the body count.
Honestly, what sets Cold Pursuit apart the most from any other revenge fantasy film is the way Moland makes the characters important. While Neeson’s name is definitely the prominent, his role feels more reserved and the screentime is split between three factions.
The first is Coxman, who was shown to be much more realistic compared to other characters in Neeson’s repertoire. There’s a joke made at one point in which some calls Coxman an old man and that he’s just an average person, but it feels that way when you see him. He’s visibly tired, is shown to not really be all there with some darkly real scenes after his son’s death, and his actions create real consequences. He isn’t treated like he is much better than the other two gangsters. Don’t get me wrong, you still end up rooting for him over anyone else in the film, but there are still some moments that suggest that maybe Coxman won’t get away so clean.
The second faction is a group of American gangsters, run by the villainous Viking (Tom Bateman), that brought out the films more darkly comedic tones. Viking actually has some depth and his crew shows some of the things they care about too—like how Viking cares for his son and desires to keep an old-fashioned, professional attitude in his business. They’re also shown to have more comical personalities rather than just generic gangsters. Especially for the raspy-voiced Viking, who Bateman plays excellently, giving the character a darkly sinister yet charming personality that’s hard not to love.
The same can be said for Coxman as the film even pokes some dark, comical fun at its characters. Whether it’s talking about a fixation with motel maids, correcting hired guns on their diction, or even Coxman finding a note on his bed from his wife (Laura Dern), after she leaves him early on, and seeing that it’s completely blank, Cold Pursuit has plenty of excellently placed moments of dark humor that will leave viewers laughing.
The third faction comes in the form of a Native American gang, who is run by the mostly silent and stoic White Bull (Tom Jackson). The group gives an interesting look at the Americanization of Native American culture–a group that’s often under-represented in film–while also following suit with Coxman and Viking in creating some funny moments. There’s also some great depth given to White Bull and I really enjoy how the film portrays him with a sense of honor because of his son’s death.
There’s also a fourth faction: a young police officer (Emmy Rossum) that is trying to piece clues together to see why so many people are dying in the small town of Kehoe, Colorado. While her character initially seems to have a bigger role in the plot, she doesn’t really add much and the same can be said about Dern’s character. Frankly, the women of this movie aren’t given much to do and don’t leave much of an impression. It’s pretty unfortunate, considering Rossum’s character seemed like she was going to play a role in the film’s finale and, given their talents, saying that these two are under-utilized definitely isn’t a good thing.
The film’s finale is also incredibly fitting with a quote from Irish poet Oscar Wilde that reads: “some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” Not only does it play perfectly into Coxman and White Bull’s fates but fits perfectly with the film’s darker tones. It also fits with an incredibly dark joke that factors into the end of the film and leaves viewers happy with a hilarious death. Not to mention, I love how the start of the credits has both a reference to Moland’s original film and a funny sequence with the cast being credited in order of disappearance rather than order of appearance.
Many who would write off Cold Pursuit as just another Neeson action flick would be missing out on a true hidden gem that’s so much more than just another action flick. It’s not only an early favorite of mine, but I would even say that it’s one of Neeson’s finest works.
Rating: 9/10
