"The Marksman" a watchable but generic "Neeson Kicks Ass" outing

The Marksman (2021)

A new calendar year means a new release in the “Liam Neeson Kicks Ass” canon. Neeson does not skip a beat as his late-stage action subgenre continues (and weathers) with “The Marksman.” It is yet another vehicle for the Northern Irish American actor to take out the bad-guy trash, but one is distracted at the thought that Clint Eastwood would have been cast in this quintessential role of an old-school, drunken, widowed, ranch-owning war vet back in the day. That’s how clichéd this action-thriller often feels, and while it is a middling Neeson outing, “The Marksman” is as perfectly serviceable as it is forgettable.

Liam Neeson is nonetheless reliably solid as Jim Hanson, a Silver Star Marine Corps Vietnam vet financially wiped out from his late wife’s medical bills last year. His Arizona ranch is about to be auctioned off by the bank in 90 days, his best friend is his dog Jackson, and his adult stepdaughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick) has bigger fish to fry with patrolling the U.S. border than worrying about Dad. When Jim goes looking for construction work to save his ranch and passes the U.S.-Mexico border in his pick-up truck, he nearly hits Mexican migrant Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) and her young son Miguel (Jacob Perez). They’re running from a cartel who’s after Rosa’s brother, and when Jim gets involved, he ends up shooting and killing the brother to cartel leader Maurico (Juan Pablo Raba). To complicate matters even more, Jim ends up with Rosa’s bag of stolen cash and the responsibility to follow her one dying wish: look after Miguel and get him safely to family in Chicago. 

The Eastwoodian parallels are no coincidence, considering director Robert Lorenz (2012’s “Trouble with the Curve”) has collaborated with Eastwood for most of his career as a first assistant director from 1997’s “Absolute Power” and on. (Eastwood, himself, does give a cameo on a hotel TV.) Lorenz also co-wrote the script with Chris Charles and Danny Kravitz, but it is so perfunctory that much of “The Marksman” follows a generic path. The chase is sometimes tense and the action set-pieces are competently crafted without always resorting to freneticism, including an impressive van flip. And, as Jim and Miguel are tracked by the cartel (and any corrupt law figure in their pocket) along their cross-country trip, there is a cruel ruthlessness to Maurico that heightens the danger. 

There is a level of watchable satisfaction in sitting back and seeing any Liam Neeson character carry out punishment with his particular set of skills. Jim Hanson is a world-weary, ultimately tragic character to which Neeson effortlessly brings human decency, and the pro shares some nicely quiet on-the-road scenes with newcomer Jacob Perez. Also, give credit to director Lorenz for sneaking in a sly Easter Egg in the liquor aisle of a convenience store (just remember Neeson played Zeus in the 2010 remake of “Clash of the Titans” and insisted the unleashing of the Kraken). “The Marksman” isn’t a complete wash, but Neeson just showing up with the same skill set isn’t quite enough this time. It's just aggressively fine, and your dad will like it anyway.

Grade: C +

Open Road Films is releasing “The Marksman” (108 min.) in theaters on January 15, 2021.