A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

[CJohn]

Discuss

[MrPink]

A good, almost great thriller that stumbles its way through the climax. It has an interesting set up, but it drags on and on, getting more and more violent, needlessly doing so. Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, and the villain all do some great work here and it works as a slow burn mystery before unraveling a bit in the last 15 minutes. B

[Webslinger]

Although the trailers make it out to look like yet another venture into the same stoic action hero territory that Liam Neeson has occupied on numerous occasions since the surprise success of Taken, A Walk Among the Tombstones is a surprisingly contemplative thriller. Even though its instances of violence are grisly and more than earn the R-rating, it's a mostly psychological thriller that succeeds despite juggling a few too many plot threads over the course of its running time. Under the direction of Scott Frank (who, between his scripts for Out of Sight and Minority Report, has to be one of the most overlooked talents working in studio filmmaking today), this is an atmospheric, bleak thriller that succeeds in establishing a seedy world and placing Neeson's character in the midst of it. As a tortured ex-cop, Neeson brings the gravity and world-weariness necessary to make the character fly. It's a performance reminiscent of his tortured work in The Grey, and it's further evidence that even when working for a paycheck (albeit a relatively scant one, given the film's somewhat modest budget), Neeson will put all that he has into the characters. Audiences who expect a Bryan Mills-type character will be disappointed, but Neeson nails this brooding character just right. Unfortunately, the film does have so many subplots that it doesn't quite maintain the momentum that it builds early on. Even one of its initially promising subplots - namely, the one involving the teenage sidekick who Neeson's character takes on - becomes a bit tired as the film progresses. However, Frank doesn't compromise with the film's dark tone until the final ten or so minutes, which feel like a conventional Hollywood thriller. While not without its flaws, A Walk Among the Tombstones is commendable as a dark thriller that stays true to its purpose through most of its running time.

 

B

[JohnnyGossamer]

Seeing this tonight. Hope Frank delivers the goods. Showtime in T-minus two minutes... Bring the noir goods gang.

 

Pretty empty film all around. Disappointing narrative beats and, honestly, pretty ho-hum genre picture without the bravura to rise above the heap. Hell, I take Bullet To The Head over this one. Arguably the worst of the new era Neeson catalog along with Unknown. C-

Edited September 23, 2014 by JohnnyGossamer

[baumer]

Really interesting movie up until the last 5-7 minutes. Why is it the killers can do all kinds of nasty shit all throughout the movie and then the best way u can come up with to kill them is a quick bullet to the head?

7/10

Should have been an 8

[ACCA]

A good, almost great thriller that stumbles its way through the climax. It has an interesting set up, but it drags on and on, getting more and more violent, needlessly doing so. Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, and the villain all do some great work here and it works as a slow burn mystery before unraveling a bit in the last 15 minutes. B

 

Agreed, that's basically my thoughts on the film, although I rate it as a very solid B+, close to an A-. It still had Liam Neeson kicking some ass, but in a more interesting, thrillerish way, rather than it being a straight action film. I thought the slow burn of the ending made things more tense and unexpected.

 

I thought the cinematography and score were both very cool. I absolutely LOVED the juxtaposition of the opening credits sequence, with the girl tied up, who initially looked like she was in an intimate embrace with a man, but then the shot pans to show she's terrified for her life, all the while the score turns from soft and intimate to really creepy.

 

Really interesting movie up until the last 5-7 minutes. Why is it the killers can do all kinds of nasty shit all throughout the movie and then the best way u can come up with to kill them is a quick bullet to the head?

7/10

Should have been an 8

 

The ending worked for me. It was a very slow burn, and you weren't sure how it was going to end. Given the smart and psychotic nature of the villains, I thought the slow burn ending was appropriate. It was implied that Kenny tried to do the same sort of nasty shit to the villains as revenge for his wife and brother, but the remaining villain (can't remember which one was "Ray") got out of his cuffs and killed him. To me the slow burn ending just showed how dangerous the two villains are. The bullet to the head I thought was appropriate, as given the threat the remaining villain posed, it was the most obvious way to show on screen that the guy was dead *for sure*. Also Neeson's character was not the kind of man that would have done nasty shit in return back to them.

Edited September 27, 2014 by ACCA

[Crusader]

Standard genre movie

 

 

6/10

 

Its alright when you have nothing better to do and you're a Neeson fan

[TheMovieman]

Not bad but is only worthwhile because of Neeson, otherwise it is a cookie-cutter crime-drama. I do have one question: any particular reason this was set in 1999? Seemed pretty arbitrary. Why not just have the opening set in 2006 and the rest in 2014? Only thing that made it from that time was the whole Y2K thing which didn't have anything to do with the plot anyway...

 

***½/*****, (B-, 6.8/10, 2.75/4)

[darkelf]

Very good movie. Neat direction and an actually good performance by Neeson, very different from some of his other sleepwalking movies (khm khm Tak3n). Add my man Dan Stevens and that Astro boy to that and you have a fine movie. I mean, it's pretty standard for the genre but they didn't fuck anything up and I'd rather have more movies like this from Neeson than those where he plays a superhero.

 

8/10

[bartonfink]

The end of century is coming, psychopathic vice is rampant and goodness is almost invisible everywhere. But in the third act, lowlifes like illegal private detective(also former drunkard and adventitious child murderer), drug dealer, junkie, homeless boy cooperate to save a little girl. It's not a typical Taken-ish action flick, but classy thriller which has grim atmosphere, slick style and somewhat moving theme. Eventually the film is about desperate try to protect the hope from decadence in Fin de Siecle and acquire redemption and rest which Liam Neeson character has been looking for. Impressive picture.  

[4815162342]

B

 

Strong mood and atmosphere for much of the way, but the finale gets bogged down with standard cop and thriller cliches

[MrPink]

B

 

Strong mood and atmosphere for much of the way, but the finale gets bogged down with standard cop and thriller cliches

 

A good, almost great thriller that stumbles its way through the climax. It has an interesting set up, but it drags on and on, getting more and more violent, needlessly doing so. Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, and the villain all do some great work here and it works as a slow burn mystery before unraveling a bit in the last 15 minutes. B

 

Like peas and carrots.