Having done my part in arguing for Jaume Collet-Serra‘s Non-Stop as a tight, terrific piece of filmmaking (mere “thriller” or not), it only makes sense that Run All Night, the director’s next collaboration with Liam Neeson, is one of the few Spring offerings I’m actually aching to see. This father-and-son-on-the-run story, for having been (seemingly) pitched in the same high-anxiety register that marked the plane-set thriller, extends its promise past the presence of some top-billed talent with a first trailer that, if I do say so, is already the best film of 2015.
After nicely establishing the basic dramatic dynamics, it treats us to some of Collet-Serra’s typically rich images and predilection for genuinely exciting action — the kind punctuated by something as basic as a taste for proper composition and graceful slow-motion. (What other adjective to describe that gun flip?) Where it ends up heading won’t be known for another three months (how much I’d give to switch release dates between this and Tak3n), but the first signs are bright indeed.
Watch the trailer below, along with a very different U.K. version:
Synopsis:
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon (Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Longtime best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Harris), Jimmy, now 55, is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective (D’Onofrio) who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. Lately, it seems Jimmy’s only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass. But when Jimmy’s estranged son, Mike (Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. With Mike on the run, Jimmy’s only penance for his past mistakes may be to keep his son from the same fate Jimmy is certain he’ll face himself… at the wrong end of a gun. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy just has one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
Run All Night opens on April 17.
What are your first impressions from this preview? Have you enjoyed the previous Collet-Serra-Neeson pairings?