REVIEW: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES

Liam Neeson is no doubt one of the biggest box-office stars on the planet. His list of films ranges from box-office hits to critically-acclaimed films. He rarely gets the award recognition which he deserves for the films he stars in rarely disappoints. I am a big fan of his work and was looking forwards to watch his latest installment in cinemas.

Neeson’s latest film is titled A Walk Among the Tombstones. The film is directed by Scott Frank who is famous for writing films such as Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, and last year’s The Wolverine. The film’s cast is has Neeson in the lead with a supporting cast of many unknowns such as Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook, Sebastian Roche, Whitney Able, Stephanie Andujar, and Brian ‘Astro’ Bradley. The film is written and adapted by Scott Frank from a book of the same name which was authored by Lawrence Block.

How will Liam Neeson’s latest film fare compared to his other successful films? Do read on…

SYNOPSIS:

Former NYPD police officer Matthew Scudder (Liam Neeson) was once hailed a hero but now battles alcohol and works part-time as a private investigator. Through one of his acquaintance during ‘Alcoholic Anonymous’ sessions he is approached for hire by a drug kingpin. Scudder is tasked by the kingpin to find the people responsible for kidnapping and murdering his wife. As Scudder conducts his investigation, he uncovers a much more sinister crime is being conceived by your not-so-ordinary criminals.

SCRIPT:

Intelligent but scattered. The premise of a crime-thriller should be pretty much straight-forward; the hero investigates, finds bad guy, kills bad guy, and solves the case. It is the same premise here but each motifs are not strong enough and often leaving it vague for audience to interpret. Although we get through the plots eventually, it grew a little bit tired towards the end as the excitement of a ‘crime-murder-solving-thriller’ loses its appeal. Characterization was also a little weak even for Neeson’s role. The story lacks suspense and anticipation despite the premise being very decent.

 ACTING:

As usual, Neeson’s acting was at the top of his game. However, nothing can be said much for the rest of the supporting actors. With the exception of one or two actors, they were all pretty lame. The filmmakers should have cast much more well-known actors than lesser known ones.

FILMING:

Nice cinematography to give it a gritty look. The editing could have been snappier to make it less boring. Overall, there were no particular stylistic methods of filmmaking to shout about and very much your usual drama.

Director Scott Frank on set

PACING:

Good in the very beginning but got really slow towards the end. Climactic ending was quite okay.

TONE (MOOD):

An authoritative figure reluctantly tries to solve a crime mystery in a criminal underworld.

Director Scott Frank and actor Liam Neeson

DOWNSIDE:

Slow drama. Very slow and lots of talk.

UPSIDE:

It has Liam Neeson!!!

OVERALL:

It is basically a crime drama that jumps from being a thriller to a murder mystery and doesn't really zoom in on a particular story. If you like heavy dramas, watch it.

RATING:

6 out of 10