Run All Night (2015), R, ★★★

Liam Neeson and Joel Kinsman running all night. Duh.

Thankfully, I do not know anything about the mob business because it is a secret and exclusive circle of trustworthy people that can stick up to you or can watch your back. However, whenever there are consequences regarding someone or some people you love and the suspect is involved, the mob boss will do whatever it takes to go after that person. It is a dangerous business. Plus, there are no civilians involved unless you get the police and/or your family engaged into the situation. That's what Liam Neeson and his family (in the film) put in that situation. And, now, he and his son are going to run all night into this sort of cat-and-mouse crime thriller that never bores you and it'll entertain you from start to finish despite that the film is a bit insane and self-indulgent.

Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) is an aged and former hitman of the mob boss, Shawn (Ed Harris). He seems to drink a lot and is a jerk for the beginning stages of the movie. Jimmy meets Danny (Boyd Holbrook), Shawn's son to make a deal for $800 to fix the heater. Danny will loan him the money if Jimmy is Santa Claus at Shawn's house, which he reluctantly agrees. I'll explain that this movie takes place during the holidays. It has been a while since there has been a crime thriller during the Christmas holidays.

Mike (Joel Kinnaman), Jimmy's son, works at a gym where he mentors boys who do not have fathers. He is living with his wife, Gabriela (Genesis Rodriguez), and his two daughters and Gabriela is expecting a third child. When Mike glances at a collage that Gabriela made to display what the family's life was before it is born, Mike notices a photo with him and his father and he does not want the picture there and obscures that picture with the photo of his daughter. When Jimmy is playing Santa Claus, he gets drunk and hits on one of the men's wives and he curses in front of the kids. Afterwards, Jimmy cools off with Shawn and share a cigarette.

Later, as Danny get into a fight with the Albanians, Mike moonlights as a limo driver to escort Danny but Mike fight Danny and Danny's friend and leaves his wallet back. Then, hearing about the incident regarding Mike, Jimmy comes to his house and as Jimmy goes outside for a smoke, Danny comes inside aiming at Mike but Jimmy shoots him in the neck. Consequences start to unfold as cops issue a manhunt for Mike and Jimmy and Jimmy explains face-to-face to Shawn saying what happened. But, Shawn says that he vows to kill Mike first before he kills Jimmy. The hunt is on...

Harris and Neeson in a bit of a messy situation.

This movie did not get me rolling my eyes or bored plus you would have to suspend your disbelief and ignore the illogical questions that creep up into your head, but, you have to admit this is a highly entertaining B-movie crime thriller. Even though some sequences are violent and bloody, it nevertheless is at a frenetic and high-octane pace because they are basically in a race against time before the mob boss and its hit-men reach them and kill them. The only flaw is that the stakes are high for their future but the stakes for running all night is a bit unsatisfying. However, it is a movie and again, you have to suspend your disbelief.

Liam Neeson is finally back into form after the unnecessary and terrible Taken 3 and he does not quite establish himself as a hero but as a jerk who did bad things in a very unforgiving profession when you screw things up. He obviously forgot about his family. It is a very character-driven picture in his point of view. Ed Harris sort of chews the scenery as the mob boss giving everything he's got in  providing the gravitas of villainous demise when he gets Neeson. Common plays a hit man who is underused but he's also solid. My problem was Joel Kinnaman. He seems a bit too laid back and let all of the experienced actors do all the work and has to just run and give predictable dialogue regarding that his father was not there for him. He needed more to establish himself as an actor who can be on par with Ed Harris and Liam Neeson.

Have y'all seen to Road to Perdition? This movie almost exactly plays like that underrated but masterful film. That's all I'm going to say regarding the second half and its final act. Also, the first act takes a bit of time to set up its characters but we are engaged as to what they are doing. The action sequences are well-done but sometimes edited too quickly in its car chases and the tale is executed with frenzied magnitude and high-octane jolt that propels you to go on a ride with Neeson and his son. This makes up for Taken 3. See this movie, instead.

***