Run All Night (2015) User Reviews (275)

One of Neeson's best action movies. Gripping, gritty and enjoyable stuff.

[Beard_Of_Serpico · 8/10 · 14 April 2020]

Liam neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging and borderline alcoholic mob hitman who is forced to protect his son from his former boss Shawn Maguire played by the always excellent Ed Harris. It's a satisfying blend of character drama and gritty, violent action. One of the things i really liked was nothing was overly spectacular and silly which gives the movie a more gritty and realistic feel. The action is quick, brutal and not glamorized and the dialogue feels like things real people would say during regular conversation as well, it gets annoying in movies sometimes when characters are spouting one liners like clowns.

Liam Neeson is solid as always and believable as a hard man who is passed his prime but will kill to protect his son even though he knows there's no way it's going to end happy for himself. He's either going to die or spend the rest of his life in prison but he doesn't care as long as his boy is safe. When he lays a guy out flat with one punch with a broken nose and missing teeth you know his character is more than capable of doing it. The story isn't really anything you haven't seen before but it's a well made movie with good performances and the action scenes are filmed in a simple no frills style with no annoying shakey cam. Definitely a good time for fans of Neeson, Ed Harris and tough action thrillers.

Great action film

[ahbindare · 8/10 · 18 March 2015]

One of the better action movies I've seen in a while. Great characters - great acting and interesting story line. I really liked this film and I don't understand why this movie does not get better reviews. unlike a lot of the popular glitzy action films, this one leaves a memory of what it was really about. The camera work was great and incorporated some of the best and most believable action scenes I have experienced. The language was fitting and not overpopulated with Fbombs. The story line is easy to follow. The soundtrack is appropriate without a lot of unnecessary crashing and banging, or a way over the top, or overpowering soundtrack. Definitely a good film.

A immensely satisfying blend of gripping mob drama and thrilling action setpieces that is easily Liam Neeson's most credible work in recent years

[moviexclusive · 7/10 · 12 March 2015]

Before you dismiss the latest Liam Neeson action movie 'Run All Night' as yet another iteration of 'Taken', let us reassure you that there is much more to this mob thriller than meets the eye. True, Neeson plays a former man of violence with a 'particular set of skills' who is forced to employ them in order to save his family, but that's about where the similarities end. Indeed, while that franchise never quite had any ambition than as a glorified B-movie, this latest team-up between Neeson and his 'Unknown' and 'Non-Stop' collaborator Jaume Collet- Serra proves itself as an impressive amalgamation of the Oscar- nominated dramatic skills on which his earlier career was built on and his more recent kickassery.

Brad Inglesby's script starts by giving us a glimpse of Neeson after the fateful events of the titular evening – that is, lying in a forest and bleeding from a shotgun wound – before rewinding sixteen hours before to fill us in. As we soon learn, Neeson's Jimmy Conlon wasn't in a much better state before his most recent run-in with mob boss and childhood friend Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) that had led to his current predicament. An alcoholic mocked by the denizens at the local pub for farting in his sleep, the former Brooklyn hit-man was once Shawn's trusty right-hand man, but has now been reduced to playing Santa at the latter's son's birthday party for quick cash, which he spends drowning his guilt over the people he has killed and the family he has alienated through the years.

As bad luck would have it, Jimmy's estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), who only wants to take care of his pregnant wife and two young kids and to have nothing to do with his father, stumbles upon Danny executing two Albanian drug dealers. When Danny turns up at Mike's house, Jimmy intervenes to save his son and ends up killing Danny, setting in motion the subsequent series of events which will see father and son move through New York City while being pursued by Danny's men – including a professional assassin named Price (Common) who has his own grudge with Jimmy – as well as crooked cops looking to stay on Shawn's payroll.

Rather than just skip to the chase, Collet-Serra and his screenwriter Inglesby invest in a more character-driven narrative than may be expected. A pivotal scene has Jimmy confessing to Danny's murder shortly after Shawn returns from the morgue to identify his son's body, which poignantly expresses not just one father's grief (and consequent thirst for revenge) from the death of his son but also another father's paternal instinct to protect his family by whatever means possible. Whereas 'Taken' (pardon the pun) the latter for granted, Collet-Serra wisely lets the polarising dynamic between Jimmy and Shawn define the conflict that ensues, giving both characters and their longstanding friendship turned brutal rivalry both shading and nuance.

Lest it be forgotten, Neeson and Harris are both accomplished actors in their own right, and both manage to find their characters' empathetic core. Collet-Serra understands Neeson's 'particular set of skills' in playing the fallible hero, and gives his lead actor space and breadth to explore his character's vulnerabilities and motivations – even bringing in an unbilled Nick Nolte to add patriarchal weight to the proceedings. Kinnaman doesn't get enough quiet scenes with Neeson for their father-son relationship to develop into something truly compelling, but the actors share a good rapport that give the action scenes added emotional texture.

And in that department, Collet-Serra doesn't disappoint. Reining in the hand-held shots that made the last 'Taken 3' an absolute nightmare to watch even on the big screen, Collet-Serra fashions a couple of impressive sequences that make full use of its New York locale. A thrilling cop-car chase through the streets of Brooklyn easily puts 'Taken 3's' highway chase to shame, while a high-rise apartment complex on fire provides a tense backdrop against which Jimmy and Mike attempt to protect a kid witness. There is also the iconic Madison Square Garden, which provides the scene for a daring escape right after a Rangers-Devils game, and heightens the Big Apple atmosphere while keeping the gritty noir-ish feel of the earlier scenes.

It is certainly tempting to see this as yet another attempt to cash in on Neeson's newfound action hero status, but 'Run All Night' distinguishes itself with some well-filmed setpieces to satisfy the adrenaline-hungry crowd while staying grounded with enough characterisation and good acting for its audience to be rooted with the characters on screen. It is also his best collaboration yet with Collet-Serra, who seems genuinely interested at making a movie tailored to the actor's strengths than simply cashing in on a fad. Even and especially if you were disillusioned with 'Taken 3', 'Run All Night' is a good, solid slab of macho entertainment that should wash away the bitter taste of that over-the-hill franchise.

Well thrilling Action movie

[Floated2 · 7/10 · 15 May 2017]

Liam Neeson, starring in his his now standard turn of several similar action thrillers. A man with a past given a chance to redeem himself with judicious amounts of crowd-pleasing violence. Perhaps it's unfair to say the Northern Irish actor could phone in this performance from anywhere in the world, as he does it so well, but one can understand those that criticize the actor for repeating himself, with the inevitable diminishing effect at the box office.

Run All Night deserves to be seen as more than just another Liam Neeson early-year actioner. It's a nasty movie with great pace and a strong spine thanks to those two prolific leads. Although it does have some flaws and may drag in between scenes, though as an action thriller it provides the necessary thrills and interest for the viewers.

Crossing that line (together)

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 10 September 2015]

Liam Neeson again has some skills that make him very dangerous. Drunk or not, do not mess with him or his loved ones ... This has a real anti-player in Ed Harris. Someone who can hold his own against Liam. The acting is superb, the action is more than decent. The thrill works and while there is a morality to it, it never challenges the tension it builds at any time.

It has it some story holes or logic errors or whatever you want to call them. But even they are kept at a minimum. I'm also glad this isn't a remake, because the title sounded like a french movie, but has nothing to do with that. Single components may feel familiar, but in the thriller genre it's tough to invent something completely new. So it's OK to copy things that worked ... like this movie does ...

Breathless Thriller

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 27 June 2015]

In New York, the decadent alcoholic Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) is the former hit man known as Gravedigger. Jimmy is a lonely man and his only friend is the mobster Sean Maguire (Ed Harris) that was also his boss. Jimmy's estranged son Mike Conlon (Joel Kinnaman) is a former boxer that works as limousine driver and is married with children. Sean's son Danny Maguire (Boyd Holbrook) is an ambitious troublemaker. On the Christmas Day, Danny deals with Albanese drug dealers but Sean refuses to participate. Danny schedules a meeting with the men at home to give the money he had received back. Mike coincidently drives the two Albanese in the limousine and Danny kills them in his house. Then he hunts Mike down since he does not want eyewitnesses for what he did. Jimmy goes to Mike's house and saves his life killing Danny. Now Sean seeks revenge and puts a contract on Jimmy and Mike that are hunted down along the night by the mobsters, the hired hit man and the corrupt police officers. Sean does not want a deal and Jimmy's only chance to protect Mike and his family is the support of the honest Detective Harding (Vincent D'Onofrio) that has been on his tail for many years.

"Run All Night" is a breathless thriller with one of the best action actors of the present days, Liam Neeson, and the top-notch Ed Harris. The supporting cast is also great. The plot is well constructed with developed characters and non-stop action. The conclusion is predictable but Jimmy is a doomed character from the beginning and could not have a different fate. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Noite Sem Fim" ("Endless Night")

6.5/10

[Giacomo_De_Bello · 6/10 · 6 May 2015]

Fluently put together and entertaining enough for it not to be forgotten as easily as it could have been, yet it falls short in achieving both what it could have and what it promises to, that being a remarkable and unique action thriller.

All of the problems "Run All Night" has seem to tie in together and make just one big problem: it simply does not use its potential and it does not use it exactly because of the problems it has. Firstly it does not use its well defined characters to its advantage and ultimately even fails to stick to some. Moreover way to many times the film descends into ultra-generic territory: I was watching the film, entertained and time and time again what it seemed to be leading up to wasn't as interesting as I wanted it to be, it was a situation I had seen times and times again and I was repeatedly left asking myself "so that was all?". The director also hints at a very original eye for visuals, just as the whole movie hints at a better, more intriguing and surprising film, but ultimately both fail to the delver what they promised. The visual style and editing style had some brief brilliant moments, but for the majority falls into, again, ultra-generic and fast-cut distracting action scene. Way too many times I wondered why hadn't the director shot a scene in another way which could have made it incredibly and vastly more fascinating to watch.

That is not to say that there are many redeemable qualities. First and foremost there is genuine tension mostly because of the well rounded characters for whom I had a surprisingly positive emotional connection and didn't realize so until the end. Helping this is a fantastic cast that delivers the majority of the goods. Neeson is obviously charismatic, he isn't phoning it in, he is giving a heartfelt performance that definitely delivered. Ed Harris is in my opinion one of the best actors of history possibly and this is further proof that he simply can do no wrong, he has a presence on screen that is very hard to match. Even Kinnaman, whom I have been a critic of, is delivering a good enough performance. Lastly, the story doesn't ever realize its potential as I said, but it still makes for a very riveting premise that kept me hooked until the end, despite an overlong duration.

I had a good share of fun and excitement, but I was disappointed to see such a good opportunity ending up being another average film.

Truly One Of Liam Neeson's Best Action Films

[eric262003 · 9/10 · 20 December 2015]

Situated in the early scenes in a boxing gym is just a great way to kick-start the movie "Run All Night" one that's saturated with fine fundamentals added with just a touch of vivacity. Yes you may say that this just familiar territory for Liam Neeson to play another bad-ass who's out to save his estranged son who's life is hanging on the balance. Unlike his other crime action films, Olivier Megaton isn't directing this one. Calling the shots this time around is Jaume Collet-Serra one of the best guys directing in this generation.

Collet-Serra and Neeson are not strangers to one another as they collaborated in two films before this one "Unknown" (2011) and "Non- Stop" (2014) which exhibits beyond Neeson's physique but his vulnerability matched with his mournful gravitas. Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a pathetic chump placed in embarrassing predicament by playing Santa Claus at a Christmas party led by his old boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) and even that he still manages to screw up at that. At one time, Conlon was an established hit-man who has lost his touch and now spends his time gulping down Jameson's at pub where he and Maguire hung out and together they would paint the town red in blood.

One night Shawn's son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) attempted to murder Jimmy's son Mike (Joel Kinnaman), but in the end Jimmy kills Danny instead, leading for vengeful night of pure anarchy in the span of one night. Suddenly overnight, Jimmy's trigger-finger is resurrected and the blood party is now in full gear.

One of the best things about this movie is that the plot never meanders and Collet-Serra's direction sticks to the point. At times his focus is primarily to get each of his shots to the very last detail while succeeding in keeping it legible, even the sky view of the repeated helicopter are revived from the clichéd jagged abbreviation.

The effects of this movie is simply breath-taking. The car chases going by way of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway through the bustling traffic on Jamaica Avenue and directly into a storefront as it flowed through the escarpment of utter chaos. It seems like Collet-Serra took pages out of the books of classic crime action directors from the 1970's like William Friedkin and Walter Hill while never showing any disloyalty along the way. I give a nod to Hill because the fisticuffs in the subway bathroom is reminiscent to the 1979 film "The Warriors" though Collet-Serra adds asphyxiation with the help of hand-towel.

Other symbolic set-pieces like visual anchors or the flaming torches are esoterically used for points of reference as to where all the exciting action is going to take place. Both of those scene center around Andrew Price (Common) a killer-for hire who terminates cops and until he showed up, the body count was fairly minimal. And sure the movie may not always be coherent, Collet-Serra still succeeds in maintaining realism and keeping every situation plausible.

When it comes to casting Collet-Serra has remained concrete in terms of casting decisions. And by hiring reputable performers, he demands that his cast embody and unusual conviction towards each other. For example there is great chemistry between Neeson and Harris and they both never looked better and their acting is both elevated in terms of delivering action and dialogue. Another nod goes out to Nick Nolte who plays Jimmy's brother Eddie, who's still loves with his mother, he has a scruffy beard, rotting teeth and a tattered old sweater that exposes his disheveled chest. It's like living in the old Irish-community in the trenches of New York.

The movie is situated primarily in the Brooklyn-Queens area of New York where the inhabitants are living near an industrial area. There were a bit of errors in geography and through timeline, but Collet-Serra handles the situation cautiously. The action is set on a rainy December night while this is going on Rangers game is happening at MSG which becomes a focal plot point.

Unless winter is arriving late, winter thunderstorms in NYC in December seems surreal, but the detailed landscape of the Big Apple is quite nuanced. Like when Jimmy unlocks a car door with a shoelace or when he scopes out the pub where he terminates every one of Maguire's thugs. These moments are priceless. And sure many will say that it's another long line of Liam Neeson's action films, but to me it truly stands as one of his best.

Neeson In Night Town.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 19 November 2015]

It's a better-than-average example of the genre. The genre itself is familiar: All the bad guys are after a couple of good guys. But this one has a bit of texture. We have a bit of sympathy for Ed Harris, the chief bad guy. Harris is a retired mobster, rejecting offers to get back into the dope trade, and he has a loving family. Really bourgeois, you know? His problem is that he has a loopy son who is half nuts and goes around shooting folks for the slightest of reasons, laughing as he pulls the trigger.

One innocent bystander on whom he tries to pull the trigger is the son of Liam Neeson. Neeson, an ex mob hit-man, is forced to kick the loopy son off his mortal coil in order to save his own son, Joel Kinnaman.

What adds some additional dimension to the story is that Ed Harris and Liam Neeson are childhood friends. They grew up together and were particeps criminis. Now Neeson has killed the son of his only friend, and Harris is devastated. He promises to kill not only Neeson but Neeson's innocent son. The police are no help. Half are criminals themselves. And Harris sics every bad guy he knows on Neeson, Neeson's son, and Neeson's son's family. The rest of the movie is one long pursuit through the night-time streets of New York City, so ablaze with lights and glitter that it might as well be daylight.

I won't bother to spell out the various chases and shoot outs, which can easily be imagined by any experienced viewer. The car chase is required, of course, and all the conventions are observed -- two speeding cars in lots of traffic, each trying to bump the other off the road, and each bump preceded by a shot of the driver's enraged sideways glance. If you enjoy high-speed pursuits, you might want to watch the movie that started it all, "Bullett."

The direction only rarely draws attention to itself. Aided by CGIs it zips backwards through tree branches without disturbing any leaves, which is a rather nice touch. Sometimes it zips a little too quickly from place to place, and it does so a little too often. Once, the camera twirls 720 degrees just to get inside a subway car. (That's 12.57 radians. Just out of curiosity, I had to look up degrees/radians and figured I might as well throw the results in.)

I kind of like Liam Neeson. He's a big hulking presence whose nose begins somewhere between his eyebrows. He's endearingly clumsy. Ed Harris is quite good as the aging, repressed gangster. The guy has considerable range, from presidential candidate ("Game Change") to raving lunatic ("Just Cause"). He's really an accomplished actor. I ought to mention Holt McCallany in a minor role as one of Harris' thugs. He looks like he could go either way, morally, and you can't take your eyes off the guy when he's on screen.

''ROAD TO PERDITION" Revision

[draft29 · 5/10 · 26 June 2015]

Like many Liam's films, it has him running around seeking revenge for something that has happened to him, but in Run All Night the story is different. Dark scenes, Night city full of enemies - that is main atmosphere in this movie. BUT… Run All Night - stolen plot,not bad remake. Watch "Road To Perdition. Neeson/Hanks kills Holbrook/Craig. Then Harris/Newman wants a revenge. Then everybody is running. Then Price /JudeLaw wounds Neeson/Hanks. Then Neeson kills Price/JudeLaw. Kinnaman/Hoechlin is innocent. Neeson dies. Questionable originality. You must see the original Mendes's picture. All actors with a good performances. Directing is nice. Screenwriter is sly. What can i say? It's only 5.

Not Your Run Of The Mill Liam Movie.... I'm Very Impressed

[poopiter · 9/10 · 19 March 2015]

I went to see this because I found out last minute that "It Follows" was only limited release and I'M GLAD I DID! When you go see "Taken 2" or "Walk Among the Tombstones" you expect crazy action which you definitely get with Run All Night. But what you're not expecting is above average story and acting. There was great suspense with solid characters that you start to care about. There's some larger than life feats that Liam pulls off as usual, but it's done well.

Giving it a 9 out of 10 might be a little high, but I feel it deserves bonus points for surprising the heck out of me and breaking the recent trend of over the top Liam movies.

Don't wait for video on this one; it's a wild ride for the theater.

VIEWS ON FILM review of Run All Night

[burlesonjesse5 · 7/10 · 17 March 2015]

"Liam frickin Neeson". Those are the first thoughts that enter my mind when I discover that Ireland's favorite butt kicker is making another action drama. The look: a leather jacket, an unshaven face, a weariness from the soaking effects of alcohol on the mend. The character: one bad mother, a former hit-man battling inner demons, a 6'4" juggernaut with a special set of skills. The plot: fathers and sons, mob ties, plenty of chain smoking, bodies piling up. The verdict: 2015's Run All Night is the third collaboration from Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra. They scored with last year's Non-Stop and actually top themselves this time with "Night". It's a hard-ass, moxie noir that makes you feel unsafe and doesn't give you a chance to breathe. Dare I say that this might be the crowning achievement in Liam's career as a vigilante who's on the verge of collecting his veritable social security.

Containing a set of story lines and/or themes that evoke shades of 2006's Running Scared and even 2011's Drive, Run All Night is a farcical yet entertaining vehicle. It sporadically features mad dog chemistry between Neeson and his heavyweight acting counterpart, Ed Harris. The story takes us to I guess, present day New York City. Liam "I'm still milking the action cow" Neeson plays a former contract killer named Jimmy Conlon (the quintessential name for a New Yorker). Jimmy currently lives his life in a drunken haze. He rarely eats, has huge regrets, and is so broke, he's actually desperate enough to borrow eight hundred dollars. He's also estranged from his son Mike Conlon (played by Joe Kinnaman), his ex-wife has passed away long ago, and he's relegated to living in a rundown apartment. Despite all this, he still has the back of his former yet more successful crime boss, Shawn Maguire (played by Ed Harris). Within "Night's" first half hour, Jimmy's son (a part-time limo driver) winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He watches Shawn's son Danny (played by Boyd Holbrook) commit multiple murders. When Danny goes after Mike as to leave no witnesses behind, Jimmy kills Danny and the two are hunted down by everyone from the police to another hired hit-man to Shawn's plethora of mob henchmen. Ed's Shawn instinctively turns on Liam's Jimmy and says to him, "I'm coming after Mikey with everything I got". You ain't kidding bud.

Jaume Collet-Serra's direction is at times hyperkinetic if not unsobering. Instead of always cutting to a scene, he chooses to use Manhattan as a CGI map so his camera can go all aerial by travelling from one location to the next. He also exhausts you with plenty of gravitating action set pieces as well as letting his sound effects editor (Patrick Cicero) pound your senses with loud, visceral gunplay. He unintentionally channels 1995's Heat. There's the familiar restaurant conversation between the leads (a la De Niro and Pacino) and the familiar ending involving kill shots and bromantic hand holding. Finally, Collet-Serra gives "Night" a feeling of a Western via the last ten minutes. That's when Neeson's Conlon gets his indubitable kill on in a ruffneck, mafia- invested tavern.

With the exception of Joel Kinnaman who's just as wooden as he was in last year's RoboCop, Run All Night has performances that are rich and textured. We start of course, with Liam Neeson. He dons the mask and cape as the ultimate antihero. His despicable, former murderer for hire is fall down drunk until his need to save his wrongly accused son really makes him snap to it. Ed Harris is well, effective playing Ed Harris. He does his best emoting while sitting down and not moving all over the place. Then we have Common. With minimal dialogue and a how to approach in being Joe Conlon's rival hit-man (Mr. Price), the Chicago born rapper is icy cool and rigidly nasty. Last but not least, there's grizzly Nick Nolte in an unbilled, two to three minute cameo. He plays Neeson's character's disapproving brother.

Acting and directing stints aside, I am going to recommend Run All Night despite some clichés. They run rampant like the movie version of the NYPD who never seems to get to a violent shootout on time. We also have the the gun-toting protagonist who fails to run out of ammo no matter how many gazillion rounds he's fired. Finally, we get the obligatory opening flashback where a character is on the verge of dying. This flashback, which is enhanced by narration, later on turns into a climatic scene that will be featured towards "Night's" conclusion. I lost count the number of times thrillers featured this hand me down.

Anyway, Run All Night has its share of flaws. However, it has given me the most excitement I've had writing a review since I penned The Gambler back in December. It's a relentless shootout quandary, a nail biter that an audience member should never and I mean never, "run" away from. So okay, here's what you do: grab some popcorn, buy a pack of Goobers, fill up your soda, and get settled in. As Neeson's Conlon says during the film's second act, "it's gonna be a long night".

Seen it a thousand times

[billypilgrim23 · 3/10 · 9 May 2015]

Another standard run-of-the-mill action movie.

You have your ex mob hit-man who is sucked back into the life-cliché. You have your car chase, your bad guys who cant hit a target no matter how many times they fire. You have your corrupt cops and your hero who kills a few hundred people and then kills the boss that he used to work for.

Nothing original to be found anywhere. Generic acting, generic dialogue, generic everything.

If you like to see the same movie you have seen a gazillion times, watch it, you will not be disappointed.

If you want to see something new, avoid at all costs.

Gritty And Predictable

[tspear-61831 · 6/10 · 19 June 2015]

The best part of "Run All Night" are the steely performances by Ed Harris and Joel Kinnaman.

Liam Neeson is solid but the previous two steal the show.

It is definitely worth a rental but not a purchase. The plot is predictable, but that's expected and doesn't derail from the entertainment value. It prevents us from becoming attached or emotionally invested in Kinneman's character's family; but we weren't really expecting to anyway were we? Fans of "Running Scared", "A History of Violence" and Kinnaman's show "The Killing" will enjoy this movie.

Liam Neesploitation!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 26 November 2018]

Few things in the present-day cinema business are as fascinating and remarkable as the sudden career change that Liam Neeson underwent since 2008! The charismatic Irish born actor has always been a tough guy, at least from the looks of it, but nevertheless he was mainly known and celebrated for his weighty and highbrowed roles, like in "Schindler's List", "Michael Collins" or "Les Misérables". But since 2008, with the release of the first "Taken", Neeson seems reborn as a hardcore-to-the-bone and authentically unhinged action hero! The "Taken" sequels, and other similarly themed and equally fast-paced action movies (like "Unknown", "Non-Stop" and "The Grey"), followed so quickly in the next ten years that we can now even almost speak of a spontaneous new sub-genre: Liam Neesploitation! "Run All Night", Neeson's third collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra in a row, is easily his best since the original "Taken", and it takes our protagonist back to his roots by depicting a heavy-drinking and embittered Irish ex-gangster. What makes the film even cooler is that Neeson is now surrounded by equally embittered compeers, like the underrated Vincent D'Onofrio, the sadly forgotten Bruce McGill and the always phenomenal Ed Harris. The difference between these old & experienced veterans and an ensemble cast existing of young hunks is that you genuinely believe them if they act like they don't care if they are going to die or not! Neeson is terrific as the emotionally tormented former hit man Jimmy Conlon, with real agony in his eyes and voice. Certain circumstances force him to kill the son of his best friend and patron Shawn Maguire, and the latter now swears that he's "coming after Jimmy's son Mike with everything he's got". Sit back and enjoy the wild mixture of car chases, virulent shootouts and raw duels.

Standard Gritty Bloodbath

[billygoat1071 · 6/10 · 13 March 2015]

The conceit of Run All Night is having Liam Neeson wander around the city, protecting his family as he beats up a set of bad guys in an entire night. It sounds like a pretty simple action experience that represents Neeson's action star career, but the story never allows to be that simple. The plot is so drowned with backstories that sometimes halts the fun it deserves. It also feels a little too long and most of the real pleasures are so reserved to make way for drama. There is joy when things get really violent and its best lead talents shine throughout making it entertaining enough, but there is nothing much left on screen but a cold standard revenge thriller.

The story has a pretty compelling setup, we are introduced to Jimmy and Shawn about their forgiving friendship until one of them crossed the line and begins threatening each other. This is a pretty long prologue, but for the good reasons to flesh out this tough, gritty world they are into; even before the actual bloodbath, the movie already offers enough amount of thrills. The best thing to say here is the movie is full of action; they are pretty violent, merciless, and driven with fine amount of suspense. But the plot keeps mattering their dramatic backstories, interrupting the fun that the film is supposed to be having. There just isn't momentum with this cat and mouse chase, even when we already understand their plight, we are still being introduced with new information, which loses the steam at the middle.

The plot is also too dumb to take seriously, but then it's all about the action, and again, it offers enough violence. The director continues to be stylish in his action, but once again, it's Liam Neeson who brings it to the table, and the movie has found a perfect competitor for him: Ed Harris. Both actors make their dialogue sound real threatening, which makes you wish it's all about them pointing guns at each other. The strongest moment of the film is basically their confrontation as now enemies. Too bad, more of the movie is Neeson telling his son what to do. The rest of the cast is alright, but it doesn't have the same appeal of the real stars of the film.

There are reasons to like Run All Night, but there are too many stories to tell that seems apart from what the movie has promised. This is basically just another Liam Neeson action movie, the only novelty it provides is giving him a perfect antagonist for him to share threat speeches back and forth. Most of it is just a thriller with the same rhythm: fight, sit down, explain and repeat. It's as typical as it gets, but the violence is appropriately grim for a revenge film. In the end, it's probably not going to be that memorable, but this proves that it's fun to see Neeson meeting his match, not by muscle, but by line delivery, which can be a recommendation for his future roles, if he continues to star in movies like this.

a little more character meat on this programmer's bones

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 13 March 2015]

Run All Night is in part meat-n-potatoes action filmmaking... or it would be if not for a few things. First is that the director, Jaume Collet-Sera, is a little afraid of the audience possibly being 'bored' or receiving the same-old-same-old with these things called transitions from scenes taking place in other parts of the city. If you've seen a video game (ala Grand Theft Audo 5) or even Google-Maps, you'll see how this becomes one of those 'flashy-for-the-sake-of-it' moments that you sort of forget or take for granted that filmmakers get away with sometimes. And the story is, from my perspective, a bit of a lift from Road to Perdition: a man who's worked his whole life for a big-time criminal boss becomes a target - as does the hit-man's son - over some BS with the boss' terrible waste of a son, and so they go on the run, with an expert hit-man hired to track down the father and son (in other words, replace Liam Neeson, Ed Harris and Common with Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law, you get the idea).

But really, this is good Hollywood action filmmaking that does at least TRY to put forward character first. We get this story of aging gangsters who grew up together and now see their world fall apart due to a number of factors - pride, grief, revenge, self-preservation, family instincts, any number of things to say 'Blood is Blood' - and it's people like Neeson and Harris in the leads making it full of heart and vitality. They don't always have to say much, or they say just enough, like when they sit down at a restaurant and nothing gets settled midway through the film. It's a moment where characters have to confront what they feel they have to do, right or (especially so) wrong, or several others in the film, that in all practicality trump the action set pieces.

Luckily, those action sequences do work better than expected. Some of the editing - OK, a good lot of it - is still fast and frenetic, but you can tell what's going on here, as opposed to Neeson's Taken franchise pics. There's one where a chase happens on the streets of Brooklyn that's a slight echo of French Connection, only here it's got a different charge with it being a crooked cop vehicle being chased, and then another in a subway bathroom that feels raw and even, at one point, outrageously funny.

Run All Night has several familiar tropes - the dumb gangster's son going over-board and the revenge plot aren't exclusive to Perdition (I've been told online John Wick bears a striking resemblance to the film as well) - and yet it's the characters and the acting that helps rise above some dumb choices made by characters at times, flaws that crop up. You're sure to spot them as well as I did, but what's on the side of the filmmakers is a) Neeson's presence and performance, which digs into playing a not-at-all-likable guy and making him a hero of a different order than his superhero-Taken man, and b) the ticking clock of it all being over one agonizing night.

So, in other words, it's worth a watch, especially if you dig New York city set thrillers and can adjust - not to say 'turn off' - the brain to its frequency of asking just enough, if not much more. It's biggest crime is that it probably won't inspire a bunch of revisits to it, unless if one just can't get enough of the actors (one of who is Common as a Terminator-like hit-man, which is unexpectedly satisfying as far as stunt casting goes).

As long as you're coming after Michael, I'm coming after you.

[CowherPowerForever · 8/10 · 14 March 2015]

Liam Neeson is back yet again with another action film. Some will claim this is another Taken film, and maybe he is cashing in big time on his success from that franchise, but the story in this film is much deeper overall than the recent Taken films, and the acting is absolutely amazing. With some great acting and a good story overall, Liam Neeson and the legendary Ed Harris deliver a must see film for any movie fan. The following is my review of Run All Night.

Run All Night was written by writer Brad Ingelsby who is very well known for his fabulous work on the 2013 film Out of the Furnace. I actually did not know that going into the film, after seeing he did write the film, I'm not surprised the characters were so greatly written. The story follows Mobster Shawn Maguire(Ed Harris) and his longtime friend and hit man Jimmy Conlon(Liam Neeson). These two have been friends for a great many years, even decades. Now that they are older and have children, things aren't exactly the same, more so for Jimmy. While Shawn is still very much close to his son Danny(Boyd Holbrook), Jimmy hasn't spoken to his son Mike(Joel Kinnaman) in several years. One night Mike has a big job as a limo driver, but the people he is driving around get into some dirt that makes Mike and Jimmy enemies with Shawn. Shawn promises to hunt Mike and Shawn down and kill them, and their family members because of the death of his son. The story is very rich in characters, and you actually care about them. While the film is nearly two hours, you honestly aren't looking at your watch at all. The film flows by perfectly because of the amazing writing by Brad Ingelsby. Overall, Ingelsby does another fabulous job of writing in this film, and his efforts on this film should not be overlooked.

The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who is no stranger to working with Liam Neeson on action films. He previously worked with Neeson on Unknown and last years Non-Stop. The action in this film is not exactly a great deal, but easily much more than last years Non-Stop. There are some fabulous hand to hand combat action scenes, and even one heck on a chase scene. Though the chase scene can be convoluted because of some shaky cam work. Collett-Serra delivers this nice way of changing location in the film from scene to scene by zooming out of the current scene and showing a high rise city view, then slowly zooming in on the new location. While this clever way of changing might have been slightly overused, it was used perfectly and if something different. The acting was really another great aspect of the film, and when you have two legends like Ed Harris and Liam Neeson on the screen together, of course great things will happen. Neeson and Harris really play great off of each other, and you really believe the story as it plays out. The film also features great acting from Joel Kinnaman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and even Common fits in nicely with his small but important role in the film. With mostly great action and absolutely fabulous acting, Collett-Serra and Neeson have easily delivered another epic action film that will live on for many years to come.

The film was composed by composer Junkie XL who is well known for working with legendary composer Hans Zimmer. He recently scored films such as Divergent and 300: Rise of an Empire, and will be scoring next years Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The score XL delivers is nothing great nor something I would claim is memorable, but his work here easily adds some much needed depth in the bigger action scenes. There are some interesting things he does throughout the film, and this is easily a score I will be going back to listen to over and over for the next few weeks to see if it grows on me even more. Junkie XL doesn't deliver the greatest score to an action film, but the score is still very much top notch.

In closing, this is a very enjoyable film, which is certainly worth the price of admission. I personally spent almost ten dollars on this film and still feel I got my money's worth and then some. The replay value seems to be high with not only the great visuals from the directing angle, but also from the great performances from the actors. Fans of films in general should put this film on on your list to watch, certainly a must see film.

8/10

Run All Night makes good use of the actors' charisma and the sordid gangster tone in creating a fray from dusk till dawn.

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 13 March 2015]

This may look like just another Liam Neeson's flick after Taken, understandably so with his usual look and its revenge premise, but worry not, Run All Night has enough substantial material and gritty crime ambiance to entertain. In a more convincing noir set-up, the movie gives Liam Neeson more range on his character, while still keeping his more well-known persona of action star. It justifiably takes more time to establish the premise to ensure this is more than just a random shooting spree.

Jimmy Conlon (Liam Nesson) has been an enforcer for mob boss Shawn Maquire (Ed Harris) for decades. He has done many terrible things, but when his son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) is unfortunately embroiled in the mafia's shady dealings, Jimmy must decide where his loyalty lies. This concept of veteran gunslinger who must fight once more is admittedly used by the recent Equalizer and John Wick, however Run All Night opts for more family issue than flair to create a different yet equally engaging effect.

Acting is pretty well done, action fans must be familiar with Neeson's performance by now. Ed Harris and Joel Kinnaman provide what was missing from Taken series, this is not your average rescue operation. It's a perspective of camaraderie relationship, a strange brother-in-arms dilemma Neeson's character had to deal with both his longtime friend and also his son. Harris is charismatic as always, while Kinnaman from Robocop and The Killing TV series, is splendid as the young son. He looks rugged, but still act upstanding enough for a contrast on the mob life.

The dynamic works in crime or gangster thriller. It also boasts gray visual, akin to 90s mystery movie. This near exclusive darkness is a bit daunting since it may hamper the fast paced action, but it does create the authentic feel of the city and its underlying often neglected lifestyles. The movie knows exactly what it wants to accomplish with its theme and confidently portrays it with the gritty visual.

Pacing is mostly good, although it staggers a bit in midway point. A few scenes feel as though they are a bit glossed over, probably for the sake of pushing the tempo towards the latter halt, these sequences could be explored more. Action is plausible, each fired shot, especially the one that hits, carries more weight. This is not Liam Neeson going Rambo all night, but a meticulous firework show.

Run All Night makes good use of the actors' charisma and the sordid gangster tone in creating a fray from dusk till dawn.

Keep Running

[ItalianBombshell · 5/10 · 14 July 2015]

Let me first write the disclaimer that I simply adore Liam. I have loved Ed Harris forever as well. I mean, hey, those blue eyes, oh my. But, unfortunately, this movie just left me cold. I really, really wanted to be on board. Really. But it's like a bad version of the already too played out Taken series. I'm left wondering why I just wasted about 2 hours of my life watching this sub-par knock off. The storyline isn't really that different. A loved one (this time his son) a time limit (all night), and a lot of gratuitous violence. This formula seem familiar? At all? Like Taken 1,2. But with some sort of Irish Godfather-esque twist. Ed Harris does play his role well. Although the stereotypical Irish mafia boss role doesn't really suit him. And Liam is predictably brilliant. Although add the enforcer 'The Gravedigger' who has an alcohol problem and you could actually conjure up his Taken alter-ego. Law and Order:Criminal Intent fans will be happy to see Vincent D'Onofrio (Gorem ) in another cop role. Supposedly the only straight cop in the city. But, that relationship isn't explored much. The story staying central to the murder of Ed Harris' son by Liam's character, Jimmy. As revenge, his son is now being hunted. Throw in about 1:30 minutes of action and that's the movie. An underdeveloped storyline. A typecast role. And an uninterested viewer. You expect the outcome from the beginning of the movie. You're not disappointed. Just not a satisfying movie. I guess I should have gone in with a completely different eye. But how do you forget Taken? How can you separate his roles when they're so close? You can't. The director knew it, the cat knew it, and they banked on it. And we were foolish enough to buy in.

JIMMY IS COMING

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 27 September 2018]

Jimmy (Liam Neeson) is an old hitman who can't sleep, seeing the faces of those that he killed. He lives his life alone smoking cigarettes and drinking scotch. His BFF and old boss is Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) who is now an honest businessman, while his son, Danny (Boyd Holbrook) is not. Events happen in which Jimmy's estranged son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) becomes a target for Shawn.

Jimmy aids his son as they "Run All Night" ....and part of the morning too, although that would have made an awkward title.

For those of you felt taken in "Taken 3" Liam plays a similar character, without the electronics. It is action filled with car chases, building fires, minor roof jumping, and plenty of gun action.

Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

Acceptable Liam Neeson thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 3 May 2017]

RUN ALL NIGHT marks the third collaboration between star Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra; their previous movies were the disappointing UNKNOWN and the above-average NON-STOP. RUN ALL NIGHT falls somewhere in the middle of those two films in terms of quality; it's a good enough mob thriller although not quite good enough to be considered a classic or indeed a regular watch. The film's very familiarity is what works against it throughout. Neeson and his adult son, played by Joel Kinnaman, are forced to go on the run from mob boss Ed Harris when things go bad, and the film follows the situation from there. It's set over a single night, which gives it some fun, but the story has been done before and done better, for example in Sam Mendes' ROAD TO PERDITION.

This means you end up watching the film to enjoy the other qualities. If a thriller's plotting is unremarkable then it must have outstanding action scenes, and the action in RUN ALL NIGHT is fun although not quite spellbinding. The bit in the subway station and the attack in the burning apartment complex are both good scenes but there are too many slow bits in the middle, and the two hour running time is half an hour too long. Collet-Serra can't do a proper transition scene without some lame CGI effects of the sped-up camera flying up in the sky and across the city, which I found quite tiresome after a while.

In terms of the cast, Neeson is on autopilot in this one. He looks old and tired and you wonder how much of that is really acting. Harris is suitably imposing as the antagonist of the piece, but his role is a virtual reprise of the one he played in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Best of the bunch is the great Kinnaman, of the EASY MONEY trilogy, but he's kept off the screen for way too long. RUN ALL NIGHT is a fine enough slice of entertainment for genre fans but it's one of those films which simply doesn't hold up if you think about it too long.

Tiring Clichés and Same Old Formula All Over, Only Blandly Executed.

[prospectus_capricornium · 5/10 · 15 March 2015]

I haven't seen any of the Taken films, but I've seen almost every 007 film and a handful of engaging others belonging to the genre, enough for me to say that RUN ALL NIGHT isn't one of them.

The entirety of the movie screams overkill, and almost every single part of it comes across as another reenactment of a familiar scene from another movie. It gathers attention once it spins out all the action and cat-and-mouse chases, but only up to a point when the sequences already strike as merely another version, only much worse, of what we've seen from another film. On times when the movie desperately pushes the level of violence one notch higher, it messes up further, no thanks to its horribly written script. Even the fact that this movie has overly qualified actors on its payroll, doesn't make any sense, as it gets overshadowed by its unfocused narrative and unsatisfying execution.

If it's any consolation, RUN ALL NIGHT has beautifully captured action sequences, some of which, breathtaking, but you can't expect of anything beyond that. Waiting for this movie show progress (and I'm not saying there's any) is as painful as watching a sportscar blaringly screech its wheels through the road, but barely leaves its place at all. Can't say if this is Neeson's worst, but certainly, among I've seen, this is one.

I actually enjoyed a new Liam Neeson action movie.. For real...

[kieranbattams · 7/10 · 14 March 2015]

This is a film I never planned to see, my dad was the one who decided to go and see it. Quite frankly i expected a crappy taken 4 type film with liam neeson doing the same thing he always does, things we got bored of after the first taken film. Seeing Joel Kinnaman on the poster also put me off because he is the most bland person I've ever known to grace screens.. at least thats what i thought after the lackluster Robocop remake. Surprisingly the film was actually something rather good to watch and the two lead stars did quite well.

Run all night could have easily been the first sequel to taken.. it follows Liam Neeson's character after he kills a mobster's son who attempted to kill his son (Kinnaman) causing the two to go on the run from cops and a trained killer played by rapper Common (who has very little to do and didn't have much of a point being in the film... until the end that is). It's the type of plot we have heard of before in a Die Hard sequel for example. Although unlike the generic actiom films we have been seeing recently the film entertains to an almost absurd degree at points, the action was gripping, especially in a particular scene that involves an apartment block on fire and a fight betweem Liam Neeson and Common.. it had me transfixed to the screen for its duration which is more than I can say for any scene from a Taken film. Ed Harris was also particularly good as Sean McGuire.. Who was advertised as the villain of the film, but you actually do feel for him at points and it makes you wonder if Liam Neeson is actually the villain.

The film really plays off of the fact that everything has a consequence and the father/son relationship is a pretty realistic one in the fact that Liam Neeson's character feels regret for the unforgivable things he has done and won't see his son go the same way. The film is far from perfect and a plot point that we do get towards the third act is just sort of blown over and never heard from again when we thought it would go somewhere.. But it is more than you have come to expect from this type of film and i can't complain about that, even if it became a bit choppy at points. Run all Night is definitely worth checking out despite the ridiculous title and I can safely say that this is Liam Neeson's best for a long time.

Only Ends One Way

[ThomasDrufke · 7/10 · 10 February 2019]

There's no airplane, train, international terrorists, or snow plows, but this Liam Neeson crime-thriller is one of great quality because of the actors involved. I mean please, Neeson vs Ed Harris? Two of my favorite actors of all time, there's no question I was going to enjoy this one. But it really is the dynamic between those two that makes the movie as good as it is. Without the weight of the history between them in this story, you don't get the same impact in the 3rd act when certain things go down. I could have actually used more backstory and flashbacks then we got. There's plenty of homages and inspirations that director Jaume Collet-Serra puts in here, like Mystic River or Heat, which are two of the greatest crime films of all time. I wouldn't say Run All Night gets to that level, but it's nonetheless a thrilling 120 minute ride. And you know, that ending was pretty sweet too.

7.3/10