Review of A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) by Maksim B — 09 Mar 2015

A typical Liam Neeson-vehicle, A Walk Among The Tombstones is a dark and clichéd action-thriller movie that relies hugely on its established leading actor. A mildly thrilling delivery with enough noir elements to keep you intrigued until the end, this could be labeled as a passable and perfectly forgettable action flick.

Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) is an ex-cop who is living off being an unlicensed private detective. When he is approached by a drug-dealer to investigate the kidnapping and the murder of his wife, Scudder gets involved in something that goes way beyond his expectations. Soon he found himself trying to protect and to investigate the deaths of victims whose relatives deserve to spend years behind bars. With this interesting noir element, director Scott Frank tries to deliver a nuanced thriller that has enough blood to be nasty, slick and appealing to the fans of Liam Neeson. Centered around the action charisma of Neeson, which has made him the most bankable classic action actor in recent years (Taken, Taken 2, The A-Team, Non-Stop, The Grey, Unknown), A Walk Among The Tombstones offers much of the same vulnerable and yet extremely dangerous Neeson. This time, however, director Scott Frank has managed to squeeze a sort of melancholic appearance of Neeson who blends quite well in the noir atmosphere of the movie.

Unfortunately, if you take out the main actor there are not much positives left in the movie. Apart from some moral and ethical dilemmas raised in the story, as well as the proper door-kicking and action sequences from Neeson, A Walk Among The Tombstones is way too clichéd to become anything but forgettable delivery. With villains that fail to impress, supporting cast that is almost invisible and occasional moments of suspense, the movie does not really offer anything that would make you remember it two months after you have seen it.

Nevertheless, in terms of a late evening home entertainment, A Walk Among The Tombstones is definitely a passable delivery which would satisfy the fans of Neeson and not bore the rest of the audience. It is worth seeing it if you would like to have a decent action thriller with a main character that you will like.