A Walk Among the Tombstones - Liam Neeson Kills Again

Like many others I'm a sucker for Liam Neeson films, especially the kind he's been in this half decade or so. "Taken", "Unknown", "The Grey", "Non-Stop", they're all entertaining as hell. Sure, they're built up around more or less the same concept. Some broody father figure who used to be some kind of law enforcement type character ends up in the middle of a crazy situation of which he's the only one who can solve. But it's amazing every time.

In this particular film Neeson plays a retired cop who's also a recovering alcoholic. He works nights as an unlicensed private detective, and gets involved in a big case involving the kidnapping and murder of a drug trafficker's wife. The plot itself isn't all that original or ground breaking, but it's enough of a premise to allow Neeson to do what he does best, and actually slightly above average this time.

From the get-go I basically dismissed this as "just another Liam Neeson film", I wanted to watch it, but I didn't except it to be anything I special. The film pleasantly surprised me. It's one of the better crime films I've seen to come out of the US in some time, Europe has been dominating that field for a while making it even more enjoyable that "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is as good as it is. Listen, I don't want to get your hopes up too much, this isn't that good, I'm not talking awards or even rewatches here. What I'm talking about is a film that will most likely surprise you in a good way, a film that keeps you entertained and intrigued throughout it's runtime. A film that's actually interesting.

One of the more interesting things about this film is how much it reads like a book. Not necessarily in a bad way, not in a way where you recognise tropes from novels that just doesn't translate well unto film. But in a way that gives you what seems like well-established and rounded characters that don't have to stay around for a while. Even the small characters feel real, feel grounded, the kind of realness that's hard to achieve in a single film, but somehow screenwriter and director Scott Frank manages to capture that from the novel it is based on. Yes, it's based on a novel, it's kind of cheating, but it's still rare to see film adaptations manage to bring to life characters in the way Frank does in "A Walk Among the Tombstones."

Overall, this is a very enjoyable film. It won't change your life, it won't alter your views on anything, but it will keep your attention for a short two hours, it will make sure you're well taken care of. If you however don't normally like crime films this won't be for you, you have to like crime films on at least some level to be able to appreciate it for what it is. But if you do, you'll have a lot of fun.