Cold Pursuit

I admit that if I knew that this movie was a remake of the strange Scandinavian movie In Order of Disappearance, I would think long and hard about whether or not I would even watch it. Especially since it was done by the same director. This way I was lured in by Liam Neeson, from whom I was expecting a classic action ride, which he has providedin abundance in recent years. However, it was a little different here. The funny moments weren’t funny. The absurdity was rather ridiculously awkward. All in all, I didn’t find anything that would entertain me during the two hours. What’s more, it is a fairly faithful copy of the Swedish original, which renders it just as useless as, for example, Funny Games. It is a shame that Liam Neeson wasted his time here. (25/06/2019)

A delightful murder mystery where it’s clear to me that its subtle nuances will not be picked up by the average viewer. There are moments that it looks like something from the Coens at their peak. Unfortunately, it has minor flaws. Tom Bateman and Laura Dern cannot handle their roles, fortunately the latter disappears from the scene soon. (26/06/2019)

Probably the most pointless film I've seen in the cinema this year, and it would be a shame if this was one of Liam Neeson's last roles. The film is a remake of the Norwegian In Order of Disappearance, which I can understand from the American side, because they won't watch European films, but what I don't understand is why the film has the same director, and this is probably the first time I've seen the original and the remake made by the same guy, and that's the stumbling block, because the film is exactly the same. Watching a film where I know who dies, how they die and how it all ends with just different actors doesn't make much sense to me. The humour also didn't work for me the second time around and most importantly the point of the whole film is lost as the original was a sort of black-humoured parody of Norwegian mobsters with beautiful Norwegian locations, whereas this was filmed in Canada and the comedy falls rather flat. Liam delivers his standard, but the villain is considerably weaker, and there's nothing to stand up for in terms of action either. I considered walking out of the cinema. 40% for Liam and the pretty decent craftsmanship, otherwise a waste of time. (28/02/2019)

Cold Pursuit is a thriller with not only an original concept, but also humor and dozens of corpses. The comic relief makes it amusing in some ways, but I would rather see the topic of revenge for the murdered son in harsh northern conditions treated seriously. Even the bad guys do not earn enough respect here. And the positive Indian poetics surrounding drug dealers that are just as vile as the main bad guys is just WTF. This is a peculiar film hybrid that not quite successfully mixes American thriller elements with European courage to play with audience expectations. (26/11/2019)

I ultimately enjoyed Cold Pursuit a little more than its Scandinavian predecessor, which is mainly due to the fact that its very same work with humor and awkwardness is applied here to American realities, in which the joke is usually followed by a pause for laughter, so that Nordic humor seems even more out of place here. A few scenes pull the joke into unbearable awkwardness before it becomes a joke again, the addition of tombstones retrospectively revealing the religious affiliation of the corpses clearly motivates one to misuse the film as a drinking game, and the occasional whiffs of seedy mafia pride (so long, Wingman) prompt you to salute the screen. Plus, it's not every day you get to see mob feather Indians rolling around (with one dot Indian accidentally mixed in). My kind of entertainment. (25/05/2019)