Heading into Cold Pursuit back when it was in theaters, hopes were not high. Love Liam Neeson and the action hero role that has been adorned on him since he scored huge in the breakout hit Taken has been one of the most surprisingly awesome things to come out of Hollywood in the last decade. He seems to have an actioner of some sort that gets released every most winter Januarys or Februarys—i.e. The Grey, The Commuter and Non-Stop. Heck, even Taken was a January release back in 2009.
After going to that revenge actioner well many, many times, it seemed like although none of these movies were terrible, they didn’t carry the high octane awesomeness that Taken possessed. You can imagine how surprised I was leaving Cold Pursuit in theaters with the film’s shocking self-aware tone, dark humor and absolutely awesome, balls-to-the-wall joyride that is Neeson’s take on a high in the Colorado mountains snow plow operator whose son dies under mysterious circumstances and it is only when the bodies start piling up that Neeson’s father character starts getting answers and retribution.
Cold Pursuit packs a punch as well in the emotive realm as the viewer is firmly along for the ride with Neeson. There is something uniquely nefarious about the bad guys in this flick that we get an extra dose of joy when they meet their demise at the hands of our protagonist. We also love it when a film is self-aware in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and most importantly, has fun with it. Neeson’s latest does exactly that and so much more.
The film is based on a 2014 hit Norwegian film, In Order of Disappearance. One of the things that the studio behind the American remake did we to hire the director of the Scandinavian cinematic scorcher. His command on the subject matter, obviously, is top notch and he and Neeson have such a great director-lead actor chemistry, it is as if the two have worked together many, many times before.
Neeson too is having a blast and it is true what they say about cast members enjoying themselves on screen and the audiences’ joy will surely follow. His last several action flicks were mediocre at best, and the lauded actor knows it. That’s why he must have jumped out of his skin when he got the script for Cold Pursuit because it is all right there on the page. The dialogue, the unpredictable plot structure and this world that was impeccably created in the Norwegian original that was so easily transferred to the Rocky Mountains around Denver. It, in many ways, reminds of the world that was created for John Wick. We know it’s not Denver of reality and there are no suburbs like the one that is so desolate that it cannot survive the winter without its one plow driver, but that’s exactly why we can let ourselves go and dive into this landscape and have a blast.
For more on the magnificent merits of the movie itself, check out our theatrical Cold Pursuit review.
When it comes to bonus features, speaking of this fictional Colorado town whose existence is paramount to the film’s success or failure, dive into Welcome to Kehoe: Behind the Scenes on Cold Pursuit. Too many making-of featurettes in the home video realm of late have been far too short. This almost-30-minute look at how many of the best moments of the comedic-thriller (yes, that’s a thing!) were brought to life possesses that same self-aware nature that the film itself possesses and therefore, its enjoyment factor is increased exponentially. There are some fascinating interviews and some great making-of footage of the creative crew at work.
Two interview featurettes add layers to the wonder of this world created for Norwegian cinema. Interview with Liam Neeson and Interview with Hans Petter Moland are each about eight minutes each and each delve deeper into the making-of process as well as highlight what each brought to the film from the point of view of the star and the director, respectively.
Film Grade: B+
Bonus Features: B