Sorry that's there has been quite delay with reviews but I've been rather busy on a film shoot the past couple of weeks. I should be doing a Blog post on my role in the coming weeks. I am up to date with my video reviews which you can see on my youtube channel HERE!!!
You can watch my youtube review HERE!!!
A Walk Among the Tombstones is based on the Lawrence Block novel of the same name and adapted for the screen by Scott Frank who first dabbled with directing with the fantastic Neo-noir The Lookout. The film stars Liam Neeson with the rest of the cast being filled out by Dan Stevens who seems to be continuing to do different work from Downton Abbey, Boyd Holbrook who is starting to make a name for himself with this film and Gone Girl, Whitney Able, ex US X-factor finalist Brian Bradley, Sebastian Roche and David Harbour who was also in The Equalizer which I'll mention shortly.
Like most Liam Neeson thrillers there may be some similarities and comparisons to Taken and with Tombstones there will also be comparisons the The Equalizer though out of the three I think Tombstones is superior. Neeson plays Matthew Scudder, an unlicensed investigator and ex-cop who investigates the disappearances and murders of several women. Scudder is rather similar to Neeson's Taken character except this is one of Neeson's best performances in quite a while; he is haunting, focused, heartbreaking and broken.
Though the plot is generic for the genre the execution is what separates this film fill from its peers as it feels more like a thriller from the 80's or 90's rather than one from the 2000's (in a good way). The atmosphere and tone is very bleak and it is very graphic at times though it's true horror resides in the implications off-screen that are left to our own twisted imaginations. This film puts its characters through the wringer and drives their humanity to the edge. It is a very dour experience and not the fun action you'd expect from a Liam Neeson thriller.
In fact it is a rather slow film and will test the patience of more action driver audiences; this is not a bad thing but it's not always engaging. It's mostly well written though it does contain some rather annoying dialogue and an underdeveloped villain but the good thing is it manages to feel different from the everyday thriller. It has very inventive cinematography regarding compositions and lenses along with good music too. It may not be perfect but there's enough to recommend seeing this and hoping for a franchise with this character.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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