Review of A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) by Hotelcentral — 22 Oct 2015

Liam Neeson is a really good actor. But he isn't a New York City guy. He doesn't look like a New York City guy and he doesn't sound like one either. And, OK, the NYPD is probably the most diverse organization to be found anywhere on Earth, but if you're showing me a NYC cop--active duty or not--he probably looks more like Chris Noth than Liam Neeson.

Problem #2: the teenage computer whiz sidekick. Maybe this worked in novels published in 1992 but in movies made in 2014, movies that appear styled like they're supposed to be hardboiled or hardcore & gritty, the whiz kid sidekick just seems silly.

Problem #3: this is one of those movies in which from time to time a character announces something and I'm left wondering how the hell did he figure that out. But maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention when the microfilm was flashed on the screen. Maybe I'm an idiot. Or maybe the screenwriter and/or director decided to take a short cut.

Problem #4: For some reason I've got this idea like Russian gangsters and big-time drug traffickers are really hard dudes. You know, like, you kidnap his wife or his kid and he will kill everybody in New York City who comes between himself and retribution. You call him on the phone to tell him where to deliver the ransom money and he'll spend the entire phone call telling you about all the horrible ways he's going to torture you before he finally kills you with his own bare hands. Because he's not going to pay you. He doesn't care who you kidnap or who you murder. He's going to get you and he won't stop until he does. What he isn't going to do is get on the phone and say, "Please don't kill my wife.".

So, all in all, the best I could say is that this film is tolerably OK.