After reluctantly killing the son of his best friend in New York City, former mobster, and hitman Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) has one night to figure out where his loyalties lie – with his estranged son, Mike Conlon (Joel Kinnaman) or his lifelong friend and fellow mobster, Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). An engaging thriller with plenty of action injected to keep the majority of viewers engaged. It’s worth noting that Run All Night is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writers: Brad Ingelsby
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, Boyd Holbrook
Run All Night certainly presents a somewhat unique story to the viewer, with that unique story being one of the primary strengths of the flick, but at the same time it still manages to draw similarities to other films of a similar nature. For instance, the story of two best friends coming together and feuding over family issues is something depicted in a flick recently reviewed here on the website, Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). Of course, the main difference here being the fifty-year gap between the two releases.
As touched upon, the action sequences were plentiful, with some really impressive and profound car chases and general shootouts between the main cluster of characters on display, made all the more glamourous by the fact that the majority of the picture was shot and filmed in New York City, United States. The pacing was also noteworthy, with the flick rarely having a moment of boredom – a stark contrast to A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) which was released the year prior.
One minor flaw I’d have to pick up on, would be the lack of lighting in the majority, if not all, of the scenes throughout the one-hundred and fifty-four minute runtime. Understandably, however, the entire movie was depicted as being shot through the night, so that may have somewhat hampered the filmmakers to an extent, with the scenes typically being bleak, dark, gloomy and gritty in nature.
In terms of the cast, Liam Neeson spearheads the majority of the film, starring as Jimmy Conlon, a borderline alcoholic that used to be heavily involved in the underground crime world. Typically speaking, Neeson was as convincing as he tends to be in these kinds of roles, while Ed Harris adopted the role of Shawn Maguire. Support reigned in from both Joel Kinnaman and Boyd Holbrook, who portrayed the sons of both Jimmy and Shawn, respectively.
Overall, Run All Night may not be Liam Neeson’s finest action flick, but it’s certainly not his worst. An engaging thriller that is more than watchable and has a somewhat interesting story behind it, but probably not one you’ll be in a hurry to re-watch anytime soon. As previously mentioned, Run All Night is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
“The things I did, the things I’ve seen, it becomes who you are. You can’t just go home and scrub it off.”
Jimmy Conlon – Run All Night
The DC Review Blog - EST. 2020 