The plot of “The Marksman,” a melancholy highway film starring Liam Neeson, might match on a bullet casing, however an inventory of its clichés would require considerably extra space.
As would a tally of its improbabilities. Neeson performs Jim Hanson, a widowed Arizona rancher whose cattle are being eaten by coyotes and whose property is being devoured by the financial institution. All the standard good-guy signifiers are current: the U.S. Marines tattoo on his forearm, the Silver Star in his drawer, the American flag flapping on his porch. Gazing wistfully on the hill the place his useless spouse’s ashes have been scattered, Jim is a lonely warrior in want of nothing a lot as a mission.
Alongside it comes within the diminutive type of Miguel (Jacob Perez), 11, and his dying mom (Teresa Ruiz), undocumented immigrants fleeing Mexico with cash stolen from a drug cartel. One reluctant promise and a number of other rounds of gunfire later, Jim and his rickety pickup truck are transporting Miguel to his Chicago kin, a posse of deadeyed cartel goons on their tail. Fortunately, Jim’s repeated use of a bank card — regardless of a bag full of money underneath his sprint — is making their pursuit a lot simpler.
Sluggish and easy and minimally violent, “The Marksman,” directed by Robert Lorenz, cares extra about bonding than brutality. Predictable to a fault, the film coasts pleasurably on Neeson’s seasoned, sad-sweet charisma — an asset that’s been tragically imprisoned in mopey-loner roles and generic motion thrillers. That melted-caramel brogue needs to be flirting with Diane Lane or Debra Winger, not educating kids easy methods to use weapons.
The Marksman
Rated PG-13 for the capturing of a number of unhealthy males and one excellent canine. Working time: 1 hour 47 minutes. In theaters. Please seek the advice of the rules outlined by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention earlier than watching films inside theaters.
