Movie Breakdown: Run All Night

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing led us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Taken 4: Run All Night sees Liam Neeson on a mission to save his son (played by Joel Kinnaman).  Ed Harris and Common are the bad guys.

The Reality:

Mob stories have been done to death, but every now again a little something slips out and refreshes the genre.  Run All Night is not that something.  Just like director Jaume Collet-Serra’s previous two Liam Neeson-led films – 2011’s Unknown and last year’s Non-Stop – it’s an okay action flick that’s so generic it becomes wholly forgettable the moment the credits hit the screen.  Hell, I’m roughly 98% sure I’m going to end up catching it on TV in a few years and watching it as though I haven’t already slogged my way through it before.  Then I’ll be treated to its paint-by-numbers experience all over again!  I can’t wait.  But seriously though, Run All Night is less bad of a bad film and more of a boring one, and if you were to get out this weekend and see it you’d probably be more inclined to simply shrug your shoulders than frown with disappointment, but does that mean it’s worth your time and money?  I say no.  And frankly, it might be better at this point to stop supporting Liam Neeson in roles like this.  The guy is on the verge of needing another career reboot.

The Lesson:

We have to figure out a way to steal Liam Neeson away from the clutches of Jaume Collet-Serra.  That guy is not a good director.