Run all Night is another Liam Neeson picture in which he might be
half dead, but can still manage to be a hero in a gun fight or even pass a
physical test of brawn. Here, he
is Jimmy Conlon, a gangster with rivers of blood on his hands, and going into
old age with a guilty conscience.
One detective in particular trails him, trying to get a list of his
victims. I understand that
policemen often have a case or a few cases that haunt them, ones that remain
unpunished and seem to have particular resonance for the detective (observed by
Richard Price, the novelist who accompanied crime scene units in New York for
years, gathering information for his books and screenplays, in an interview
with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air). Detective Harding cannot even be civil to Conlon in a
casual conversation in a café because he’s so bugged that Conlon has been left
free. Of course, Neeson’s
character remains his characteristic droll, slight-taunting self.
Conlon and Maquire (Harris) have been lifelong
partners in crime, and Maquire has always said that “Wherever we’re going when
we cross that line, we’re going together.” That cannot possibly hold, however, when sons are involved. Maquire’s son has taken after his
father—although without nearly the smarts and caginess of the old man. He has made promises to some gangsters
that he cannot keep, and they come after him. He continues to handle the situation poorly, and it results
in a bloody mess. By coincidence,
Conlon’s son Mike (Kinnaman) is the driver of a limo outside Danny’s (Boyd
Holbrook) apartment, waiting for his fare to return, and has witnessed enough
of the melee that he is a threat to Danny. Mike gets away, and runs to his apartment, knowing that
Danny will be after him, so he needs to protect his family.
Jimmy has gotten wind of everything, and
although they have been estranged for years, he begs his son to protect himself
and his family, because he knows how criminals work, and that Danny will be
coming after Mike. But Mike has
suffered because of his father’s occupation, resents him deeply, and thinks it
best simply to call the police, which is against his father’s advice. Conlon is keenly aware that his son
won’t have a chance of fairness because of his father’s reputation.
Indeed, the father is right, and then follows a
series of encounters in which father has to save son just in the nick of
time. Not only is law enforcement
after both of them (the police have been purposefully misinformed), but Maquire
has also sent out his own minions to get them, the most fearsome of all being a
thug (Common) with a laser night vision eyepiece.
In watching films like this, my practical mind
always asks questions such as, “in a car chase where the occupants of the cars
have guns, why don’t they simply shoot at the tires, rather than trying to play
bumper cars?” Why does Conlon stay
silent, rather than explain situations?
Numerous times, he could have explained in more detail to Maquire why
Danny got killed, or could have told his son that he left him and his mother in
order for them to have a better life.
And finally, Jimmy looks so out of shape, alcoholic, and half dead at
times—particularly in the beginning of the film—it’s really a stretch to think
that he could even participate in a physical fight, let alone come out the
victor time and time again.
If these and other implausibilities can be
ignored and you don’t mind seeing replays of other movies (like the Taken ones), you may find Run all Night to be an exciting film
with one catastrophe after another, close calls, and heroics. And it has the gifted actors Neeson and
Harris doing their thing.
For those who like the Liam Neeson
genre, you will find this film to be a fine run—all night.
Grade: C- By Donna R. Copeland
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