The Marksman Review: A Slower Paced And More Reluctant Liam Neeson Film

Release date: January 15, 2021
Running time: 107 minutes
Cast: Liam Neeson, Katheryn Winnick, Juan Pablo Raba, Teresa Ruiz
Director: Robert Lorenz

Hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) simply wants to be left alone as he fends off eviction notices and tries to make a living on an isolated stretch of borderland. But everything changes when Hanson, an ex-Marine, witnesses 11-year-old migrant Miguel (Jacob Perez) fleeing with his mother Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) from drug cartel assassins led by the ruthless Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba).  After being caught in a shoot-out, an injured Rosa begs Jim to take her son to safety to her family in Chicago. Defying his stepdaughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick), Jim sneaks Miguel out of the local U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station and together, they hit the road with the group of killers in pursuit. Jim and Miguel slowly begin to overcome their differences and begin to forge an unlikely friendship, while Mauricio and his fellow assassins blaze a cold-blooded trail, hot on their heels.  

In what is a general trend in Neeson movies, Neeson plays a man who is perfectly capable and trained to defend himself, but has chosen not to.  However, a situation outside of his control forces him to activate those skills, and use them on the bad guys.  It is a predictable story line but this one's angle is that Neeson is taking on the cartel.  But despite the well tread storyline, this movie does have some beautiful scenes of the Arizona landscape where Jim Hanson (Neeson) calls home.  And this film is a decidedly slower-paced film that allows Neeson to express more emotion than he normally is able to.  He is more on the Clint Eastwood side of the reluctant hero equation than his normal self.  But that doesn't mean he isn't perfectly capable of taking on bad guys when needed.  His character can handle himself and that is made very apparent throughout this film.  When needed, he dispatches bad guys with swift efficiency.  

However, the film does suffer from a sort of been there, done that type of mentality.  I feel like I've seen this Liam Neeson film before, despite the changes that were made.  And although I enjoyed seeing Neeson get to be a little more emotional than I'm used to, it did lead to a movie that had a much slower pace than others from his catalog.  It feels like there are large stretches where not a lot happens, which is partly due to a road trip aspect to this movie.  And although the film does not use a lot of CG, it is there and is generally noticeable when it occurs.  And finally, the movie has some strange choices towards the end and an ending that was unexpected, but slightly unsatisfying.  If you are looking for a Liam Neeson film that is similar to his past work, but has some interesting changes, then this might be the movie for you.

If you are aiming for a Neeson movie that has a slower pace and a slightly more reluctant badass hero, then The Marksman is on target.  

Rent it.

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The Marksman is available in theaters on January 15, 2021.

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