By: Keaton Marcus

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 15, YOU MUST ASK YOUR PARENTS IF YOU ARE ALLOWED, IF THEY SAY NO…IT MEANS NO!

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Now earning his spot in the small group of effective remakes is Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland--directing Liam Neeson-starring action comedy "Cold Pursuit"; the flick offers more than enough violence while providing more imagination and sinister pleasantry than the nonexclusive Neeson-vehicle. Notwithstanding, the development still follows the comparable worn-out "Death Wish" sort of storyline--Nels Coxman (Neeson) literally goes on a killing spree after the death of his son, who was murdered by a crime lord. The film is a little better and more intelligent than the common grim vigilante story--which really makes it worth a watch--"Cold Pursuit" is not a must-see, but it's more than suitable for a good time at the movies--with some satirical bite.

Mentioned before--Liam Neeson plays a snowplow driver named Nels Coxman, driving the same road every day in a generic, little town called Kehoe--where nothing ever happens. Coxman lives a happy life with his wife, Grace (Laura Dern) and his son Kyle (Michèal Richardson). The movie was filmed in Alberta, and they were going for a Rocky Mountains-type ski town--it works, and the location is stunning. Coxman's son Kyle is then killed from a heroin overdose, Nels and Grace are shocked at first and insist that "Kyle was not a druggie"--but the investigators note that all the parents incite the line--and close the case. The two lovers almost succumb to the fact that they did not know their own son, and soon after Nels tries to kill himself, only for Kyle's friend to tell him that his son is innocent--and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neeson then goes into full revenge mode, as you would expect.

No matter how dumb his films are, you will always love Liam Neeson's naturally strong performance. In "Cold Pursuit", the 66-year old action star gives his best showcase in a while, especially with the convincing script, and actually impressive film surrounding. In the "Taken" trilogy, the flicks were so bad, so stupid and so unrealistic--but Neeson's performance kept you on board, at least for a while with his typical deep voice and the ability to always, and I mean always remain serious. It's similar to 2014's Neeson-starring hijacking picture, "Non-Stop", so gloriously dumb that you loved it, especially the tough-guy persona of Liam Neeson. Neeson truly shines in his newest film, along with the sometimes hysterical dark humor, and silly plotting around them--really, if the certain actor is in a vengeance tale, go see it.

Nels wastes no time calling the lukewarm local police--instead, he starts tracking down each of the crime lord's thugs, all cleverly labeled with a nickname (Santa, Wingman, Viking, Speedo). Quickly, he finds the first man in the chain, easily killing him before chucking him over a waterfall--after leaving an impressive body count--the leader is revealed as Trevor 'Viking' Calcote (played by an amazing Tom Bateman). The film playfully gives headstone title cards every time a character dies--another sign that filmmaker Hans Petter Moland knows how to combine impressive action sequences and comedy successfully. Generally, the "Cold Pursuit" is a fun, and entertaining play on different genres, but near the end, even with the film's short length--it tends to feel a little bloated, losing a little steam as it goes on. Still, despite its generic feel and the prolonged finale, it's nevertheless clever.

Foreign filmmaker Hans Petter Moland also never forgets to put some clever satire between the lines of the bloody action film. Remember how in a number of terrible action flicks, it's always so easy to kill someone, or shoot a bad guy--well in "Cold Pursuit", all the clichès are slammed and made fun of--literally making jokes at every other American film in the genre. This may seem too silly for such a serious storyline, but really, it's actually extremely funny, and I mean sometimes laugh-out-loud type. The combo of violence and comedy is rarely used in a Liam Neeson-starring film, and may down its projected box office numbers, but it may or may not persist longer than the standard Neeson-vehicle. Really, Moland's direction is clever enough, that it distracts audiences from how ridiculous the film is--almost playing out like a parody--but with enough brutality to differ from the paint-by-the-numbers "Austin Powers" movie.

The final verdict is: While the film loses steam towards the end, "Cold Pursuit" is an entertaining Liam Neeson-starring movie with enough bloody violence, satire, humor and even a little cleverness to get by--a perfect romp for a good time at the theater...$TREAM IT

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening: 11M

Domestic Total: 32.1M

Worldwide Total: 76.4M