Run All Night 2015 (Movie Review)

Dir: Jaum Collette-Serra
Cast: Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Ed Harris
Duration: 1 hr 54 mins
Rating: 2/5
PG: Quite a bit of foul language used.

It’s a pretty old tale dressed in a shabby new garb. It’s a story we all have heard about in different forms. Gang wars, mafia, drug lords and the like, you know what kind of film this is going to be. Well, it follows a similar story line too. Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), was a mean shot in his heyday. Now, all he does is down glasses of whiskey and try to forget his sinful past. He’s the right-hand man of a powerful kingpin, Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris),who is also his good friend.

Shawn’s son gets entangled in a sticky mess when he kills two members of another gang. Things get personal when he goes after Jimmy’s son, Michael (Joel Kinnaman) who was a witness to the crime. Jimmy is estranged from his son thanks to his profession. So, Michael isn’t too happy when he comes knocking with protection. Danny (Boyd Holbrook) makes his way to Michael’s house but is terminated by Jimmy just before he can pull the trigger on Michael. Shawn doesn’t take his son’s death very well and warns Jimmy of his wrath. Jimmy is aware of the Shawn's strategy and seeks to foil it and rescue his son from the danger. Up until this point the movie is a drab. But from here things pick up a bit of pace. Caution, they pick up very little pace.

Father and son set out to protect Michael’s family and his life. Racing against time, Jimmy and Michael must kill Shawn to end the madness. The events of that one, eventful, life-changing night form the crux and chunk of the film. Jimmy finishes Shawn but has another major problem to deal with: a professional assassin hired by Shawn. In the climax scene, there is a shootout. Jimmy is severely injured but manages to gather his last ounce of strength and fire his best shot. He succumbs to his injuries and dies the way he lived. His heroic actions help him win back at least a little of his son’s respect and repair the strained bond between them.


The film has similar cinematography to Non-stop, another film which had Jaum as director and Liam in the lead. The old-fashion story line and dragging pace of the film were spoilers. The build-up of the plot was pretty dramatic but the climax was platitudinous. Minimal sound effects didn’t help and the film overall was dry and dull. If all you’re looking for is to kill time hit play on this film.  

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