RUN ALL NIGHT DVD (2015)

SYNOPSIS: Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Longtime best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), Jimmy, now 55, is haunted by the sins of his past-as well as a dogged police detective who's been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. Lately, it seems Jimmy's only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass. But when Jimmy's estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. With Mike on the run, Jimmy's only penance for his past mistakes may be to keep his son from the same fate Jimmy is certain he'll face himself…at the wrong end of a gun. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy just has one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Run All Night marks Liam Neeson’s third collaboration with Jaume Collet-Serra. They don’t exactly come together to make fine arts drama and this entry should be marked as their strongest effort so far.   

Liam Neeson aka the toughest aging man in Hollywood plays a former mobster Jimmy who is forced out of his daily alcoholic routine to protect his estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman) after he witness a murder by Danny, the son (Boyd Holbrook) of Jimmy’s boss (Ed Harris). Making matters worse, Jimmy accidentally shot and killed Danny. And now, Jimmy must choose between friendship and family and he has one night to resolve everything before it gets out of hand.

Unlike Unknown and Non-Stop which is not exactly plausible when you think harder, Run All Night is far more direct and engaging. It’s a simple revenge tale involving two fathers trying desperately hard to make up for their sons. One father has already lost his beloved son while the other one is committed to salvage his long-lost relationship with the family. It’s far layered than the Taken trilogy and at least it gives ample screentime for the two veterans, Neeson and Harris to flesh out their characters.    

Surely, Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra has no problem mixing drama with action. Probably scared of audiences being tired of watching Neeson easily taking down a few thugs, he introduces a paid assassin in the form of hip-hop artist turned actor Common to turn up the action a few notch. Regular onscreen bad guy Vincent D’Onofrio (Jurassic World) plays a good guy this time round, a detective who has been for years eyeing on Jimmy and his manslaughtering activities.

Run All Night is proof that Liam Neeson and his particular set of skills still have quite a lot of mileage left in the tank. This actioner might contain the same-old Neeson doing his badass routine but the decent drama plus solid acting chops makes this crime outing a recommended flick. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The only extra is 16 Minutes of Deleted Scenes notably more screentime of Common and the uncredited Nick Nolte.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

While mostly set in the night, the video presentation does a fine job handling the color balance and detailing. Dialogue is clear and the action beats are aggressive and pounding with realism.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee