Meet Nels Coxman. Citizen of the Year.
2019-02-07
$60.0M
119 min
The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son's murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking's associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution.
Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a simple man who spends his days clearing the roads in a remote Colorado Ski Town and spends his days with his wife and his son. Nels is so unassuming that when he is awarded Citizen of the Year he states that there are others far more worthy and fusses over getting dressed up to accept the award and make a speech.
When his son is found dead of a Heroin overdose; Nels is not willing to accept that his son was a user even though this puts tremendous strain on his marriage and has taken Nels to consider suicide. At his worst moment he learns that his son’ co-worker was involved with some shady dealing and that his son was likely collateral damage from the criminal elements involved.
With a new found sense of purpose: Nels embarks on a quest to find the truth and avenge his son’s death no matter the consequences.
One would think that “Cold Pursuit” is a standard revenge film but it unexpectedly changes direction shortly after Nels starts exacting his revenge. The film transforms into a Dark Comedy of sorts as characters get a Title Screen when they are killed many of which have a morbid humor to them. The film even takes the bold step of moving away from Neeson for a good third of the film and putting the emphasis on other characters from rival crime organizations to the Sherriff and his eager Detective (Emmy Rossum). As such the film is not what you expect as although there is plenty of action at times; it is a Dark Comedy with dramatic elements. It is more in line of what you might expect at a Film Festival from an Indie studio versus a major studio release. As such fans of Neeson may be disappointed in seeing a departure from the type of films they have come to expect from him in recent years while others may embrace the quirky nature of the film.
3 stars out of 5
Took me a very long time to adjust to the format, but Cold Pursuit is a win in my book. A moderate one, but still, take that W boys. Sure the setting feels underdeveloped, the tone is back and forth like it's hangin' off the end ball on Newton's cradle, and off the top of my head I can think of a minimum of five characters you could cut entirely without affecting the story in any way whatsoever, but I'm still here for it's weird good thing.
Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
I am not sure why but I had fairly low expectations for this movie. Perhaps partly because revenge flicks really aren't my sub-genre. But I liked Cold Pursuit, seemingly more than many reviewers. I found it to be quite entertaining, with bits of humor, good dialogue and several small plot twists along the way. Plus I have always liked Liam Neeson. There is a child character who comes off looking more wise and savvy than the adults. His short scenes are pleasant interludes between the scenes of drama and violence. Being an action film, I knew not to look for character growth or subtlety in the subplots. I just buckled up and enjoyed the ride.
Revenge in the snowy Rockies with Liam Neeson
A grieving snowplow driver in the Rockies of central Colorado (Liam Neeson) seeks vengeance after his son is murdered by members of a ruthless drug cartel. Tom Bateman and Tom Jackson play the warring drug moguls while Laura Dern is on hand as the protagonist’s wife.
“Cold Pursuit” (2019) is a quirky crime drama/thriller that’s a remake of the director’s Scandinavian flick “In Order of Disappearance” from five years prior. Instead of being a straight revenge thriller in the snow it opts for a peculiar tone akin to Tarantino, the Coen brothers and Guy Ritchie.
Neeson is stalwart, the wintery locations are outstanding and the technical filmmaking is proficient. Unfortunately, the odd tone and supposedly ‘hip,’ morally bankrupt characters struck me the wrong way. Maybe it’s just a Scandinavian thang that didn’t translate well to North America. There are still enough highlights to make this worthwhile if you can roll with thug scum obsessed with killing each other mixed with black humor.
For similar movies that are arguably better, check out "Fargo" (1996), “Deadfall” (2012) and “The Big White” (2005).
The film runs 1 hour, 58 minutes and was shot in western Alberta (Kananaskis Country), British Columbia (Vancouver, Fernie & Victoria) and Manitoba (Winnipeg & Gimli).
GRADE: B-/C+
Well, there is a Boycott and, all I am going to say about that is that, given who it's coming from, they just want Lian Neeson to apologize, so they can refuse to accept it and destroy his career to signal how virtuous and powerful they are by harming others..
The motives are horrible.
But, for those among us that are normal, or at least not jumping onto that bandwagon, all I can say is...BEST ENDING EVER!!!!
So it's a bit 90s, the actor that did the big bad is not decent, but the twists are all kind of out of left field, and it's fun, for a revenge flick that is written to be sedate, darkly comical, and stylish.
And, to think I almost didn't see it because I am sick and tired of Taken.
What you get is a fun and entertaining film.
