Director: Robert Lorenz
Notable Cast: Liam Neeson, Jacob Perez, Juan Pablo Raba, Katheryn
Winnick
Let’s be honest here, Blood Brothers has certainly enjoyed
the Liam Neeson action thriller boom post Taken. Whether it’s the
stylish run with director Collet-Serra or his strange penchant for awesome snowbound
films, The Grey and Cold Pursuit in particular, his choices as a
leading actor lately have been fun even if predictable and formulaic. This is
perhaps the reason that The Marksman seems a little off the mark. After
finding huge box office success with 2020’s Honest Thief, a film that is
quite charming in how it leans into Neeson’s strengths, The Marksman is
a substantial regression. It’s an antiquated style of film that feels more
concerned with satiating its audience demographic than telling a well-rounded
story. The Marksman is a Cannon film without the fun and entertainment
and it’s incredibly problematic.
With its mid-budget action thriller genre foundation,
focused on an elderly gentleman that must use his particular sets of skills,
mostly driving a pick up and– as the title indicates – expert marksmanship, one
can easily see why this would fit into the Liam Neeson string of films. Yet, it
becomes obvious as the film progresses that Neeson might be perplexingly
miscast in the film. Sure, he often struggles to hide his accent in a lot of
films, but here it seems obvious as his ex-Marine all-American rancher, Jim,
feels at odds with the actor. Neeson can deliver when needed, which works in
moments here – particularly once the film hits its cat and mouse chase as Jim
and the young Mexican boy, Miguel, he is protecting head on the road to Chicago.
The heart shows occasionally, but it often feels as forced as his American
accent. It’s not enough to carry the film through the issues even when it
works.
Most of the more recent Neeson films certainly aim for a
specific demographic and this one most obviously aims for the 35+ year old male.
Jim is meant to represent a specific kind of American and there are a handful
of scenes that appeal to the 80s pro-American concept of heroes, including scenes
where the bank threatens to take his ranch since he’s 6 months behind on
payments or how a gun shop sells him some weapons without a background check
because he’s an ex-Marine. If you fall into this demographic, then The
Marksman will appeal to you. If not, the film feels – as mentioned previously
– a bit antiquated even compared to many of his other films. At its worst, it’s
a white savior fantasy for older men and when it hits those points, it hits
them unapologetically.
On a more surface level, The Marksman tends to
deliver all of the prerequisites for a mid-budget action thriller. Its pacing
of its second and third acts is brisk, the action is decently shot particularly
when the final standoff between Jim and the cartels comes to a head, and the
secondary cast is solid enough for a slew of stock parts. Nothing truly stands
out though as it moves through the motions though and the film feels like a
workman’s effort by director Robert Lorenz, unsurprisingly the assistant
director for Clint Eastwood since 1995, but it’s adequately shot and executed
in terms of what ends up on the screen.
Ultimately, The Marksman is an underwhelming misfire.
There are key moments where one can see why the film exists, the themes and
messages that it’s trying to pitch from under the blanket of its 80s inspired
script, but the rest of the film is a color-by-numbers affair, far too consumed
with catering to its audience and forcing an emotional core that isn’t quite
earned. If you’re looking for a cable movie to watch, then I suggest putting
your crosshairs on it sometime on FX. As for the first major film released in
2021, it’s one to skip out.
No comments:
Post a Comment