Director
Hans Petter Moland
(IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE, DEPARTMENT Q: A CONSPIRACY OF FAITH and A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN)

Stars
Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Laura Dern, Tom Jackson and Emmy Rossum

It isn’t often I find myself watching an American remake of a foreign film I’m yet to see. Yet, I somehow missed the release of recent Norwegian crime film KRAFTIDIOTEN (IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE), both of which (the original and the remake) have been directed by Hans Petter Moland. In COLD PURSUIT, Liam Neeson stars as Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver working at a resort town in the Rocky Mountains. A quiet man, who other than living with his wife (played by Laura Dern) and son (Micheál Richardson), mostly keeps to himself. When Nels’ son is murdered, he takes matters into his own hands and hunts down each person that he believes played a part in his son’s death.

On paper, COLD PURSUIT sounds very much like a repeat of a routine Liam Neeson action movie. Throughout the first act, most proceedings unfold just that way. Only this time around, an irreverent brand of comedy has been regularly applied to this episodically violent revenge thriller. Soon after Nels has found the first person on his hit list, the film broadens its narrative to also be from the perspectives of other newly introduced characters. Those who consume greater screen time assume a more antagonistic role in the film while occasional appearances are made from the perspective of a police officer (played by Emmy Rossum) who can smell smoke where there is fire. 

The development of the plot and the climax of this film are enough on their own to gain, then maintain, the investment it seeks from its viewers. But one of the greatest conundrums I had with COLD PURSUIT was feeling comfortable with the levity applied to this crime drama and in harmony with the overall mood being generated. That aforementioned irreverent humour felt more forced and awkwardly out of place than it managed to seamlessly fit in. Holistically, the film is just so uneven. Should COLD PURSUIT’s unevenness not be a bother to you, then the noticeably misjudged performance of Tom Bateman, who is imperfectly trying to perfect his villainous character, ought to. Nonetheless, COLD PURSUIT just scrapes in…

3 stars

Viewer Discretion
MA15+ (Strong themes and violence)

Trailer
COLD PURSUIT

Moviedoc thanks Studiocanal for the invite to the screening of this film.

Opens nationally on Feb 7

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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