Jaume Collet-Serra may not have attained the “household name” status that directors like Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele have reached, but the Spanish-American filmmaker certainly knows how to make straightforward genre movies that feel like deliberate throwbacks. Although Collet-Serra has recently delved into blockbuster territory with the underwhelming Dwayne Johnson star vehicles Jungle Cruise and Black Adam, he was previously heralded for his recurring work with Liam Neeson, who surprisingly became one of the industry’s favorite action stars in the aftermath of the surprise success of Taken. Collet-Serra and Neeson made their homages to the work of Alfred Hitchcock with the amnesia mystery Unknown, the airplane thriller Non-Stop, and the Strangers on a Train homage The Commuter. However, the partnership between Collet-Serra and Neeson peaked with the gangster thriller Run All Night, which surprisingly turned out to be a pretty great Christmas movie.
What Is ‘Run All Night’ About?
Neeson stars in Run All Night as the former Irish mob hitman Jimmy Conlon, whose ruthlessness once earned him the nickname “The Gravedigger.” Although Jimmy has left the criminal life behind him, he still suffers from serious alcoholism and addiction issues, which put up a barrier between him and his son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman). Mike has a respectable job and family life and wants nothing to do with his father; however, their paths become intertwined when Jimmy is forced to kill the drug dealer Danny (Boyd Holbrook), whose father is the powerful gangster Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). In order to get revenge for the death of his son, Shawn enlists the most powerful bounty hunters and assassins in all of New York City to track down Jimmy and kill Mike. Although the two men have had their fair share of issues with one another in the past, they are forced to work together to survive what ends up being a very dangerous Christmas season.
The work that Neeson and Collet-Serra and Neeson did together on their previous films was entertaining because they were all fairly high concept; although there was nothing about their execution that was particularly above average, the story conceits were interesting enough to dedicate a 100-minute thriller to. Comparatively, Run All Night is unafraid to be a pure work of exploitation and bears a lot in common with classic vigilante movies of the 1970s, such as Rolling Thunder and Death Wish. Jimmy’s story is quite sad, as it is emphasized that his toxic behavior has turned him into a bitter old man who has no one to care for him on the holidays. Although the film has more than a few moments of genuinely upsetting violence, there’s also the perseverance of silliness that ensures that Run All Night is still relatively entertaining. Much of this comes from the supporting appearances by legendary character actors, including Nick Nolte as a grizzled police officer and Common as a dangerous bounty hunter.
‘Run All Night’ Is a Surprisingly Great Christmas Watch
Run All Night does a great job at examining a father-son dynamic, which is bolstered by the excellent chemistry between Neeson and Kinnaman. Although Neeson is best known for playing more heroic characters, Run All Night allows him to play a genuinely nasty gangster who is filled with regrets; while Mike is certainly the character that the film has the most empathy for, Kinnaman is able to indicate that he was in the wrong for completely removing his father from his life and not giving him a single shot at redemption. The heart-to-heart scenes between them are powerful enough that they make the action scenes even more exhilarating.
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Run All Night follows in the tradition of many great action movies set during Christmas, such as Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The ornate, joyous atmosphere that comes with holiday decorations only makes the gritty world of crime and intrigue feel more harrowing in comparison; the traditions surrounding Christmas make it even more critical to Mike that he needs to return home to his family. While Christmas is typically a time for watching charming family classics like Miracle on 34th Street or Home Alone, Run All Night is perfect for those who like some R-rated thrills amidst the holiday celebration.
Run All Night is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
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Run All Night is a 2015 action click starring Liam Neeson alongside Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, and Vincent D'Onofrio. In the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed film, Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a mobster and hitman who must choose whether to be loyal to his best friend named Shawn or his estranged son, Mike.
Release Date March 13, 2015
Runtime 114minutes
English (US) ·