In Cold Pursuit, Liam Neeson plays Nels Coxman, an unassuming and reserved snow plow driver from rural Colorado, who takes on the role of vigilante after the killing of his son.  Coxman sets out to enact revenge on those responsible, leaving a slew of bodies in his wake. The film is a remake of a 2014 Norwegian film titled In Order of Disappearance, and is directed by the director of the original, Hans Petter Moland.  Laura Dern and Emmy Rossum also appear in the film.

At face value, the premise of Cold Pursuit is outlandish at best, but the film takes this in stride and leans into the absurdity often.  The dark humor in the script can be hit or miss, and much of the dialogue comes across stale and familiar. By the end though, I found myself buying into the tone, and enjoyed a few genuinely funny moments.

Liam Neeson delivers a palatable performance, reminiscent of his recent roles, most notably of that in Taken.  From a character standpoint, the script itself gave him little to work with, and Neeson makes no effort to provide us with any greater depth.  Besides a particularly spirited performance from Tom Bateman as the main antagonist, the rest of the cast also fall victim to the script, and become bogged down by various subplots.

Apart from the story, I was pleasantly surprised at how visually appealing this film could be at times.  With the snow capped Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, I found the action sequences more enjoyable than I expected from a film like this.  Nonetheless, some of the visual effects make it painfully clear when the cast are standing in front of a green screen. 

For a film marketed as an action thriller, Cold Pursuit failed to bring me to the edge of my seat the way that films of this genre often do, and until late in the film the action was infrequent and brief.  Some of the kills seemed to be played for laughs rather than suspense, often at the expense of drama.

I would not say that Cold Pursuit is a great film, or maybe even a good film, but by the time the credits “rolled” (in a delightfully clever fashion), I realized I had enjoyed watching Liam Neeson use anything at his disposal (including a logging machine) to enact his vengeance.  Aside from the on-the-nose dialogue and convoluted side plots, the film was funny, twisted, and even rewarding.  Fans of Liam Neeson's recent work will get a kick out of this as well, though no one should expect anything fresh or original from this film.  

Final Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐

Recommendation: Wait until DVD release

Cold Pursuit opens in theaters Feb. 7, In Order of Disappearance is currently streaming on Netflix.