The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son’s murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking’s associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution.
Actor Liam Neeson has definitely made a name for himself in Hollywood. The Northern Ireland actor has turned a fine career of being leading man, but (like many actors in Tinseltown) humbly began in either smaller feature films or in supporting roles with some recognizable rising acting talents, including actors Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in The Bounty, Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in The Mission, and Patrick Swayze in Next of Kin. In 1993, Neeson landed a lead role in Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 acclaim film Schindler’s list, which rose the actor in Hollywood and opened the doors to many diverse roles.
While Neeson did continue to land plenty of roles in big / prominent movies during the 90s, his started to get mainstream roles toward the late 90s and turning of the millennium…most notably in 2008 with the movie Taken. After gaining favorable reviews / praise from the movie and Neeson’s performance of the movie’s lead character of role Bryan Mills, Neeson started to become a staple in the action / revenge thriller fare, with subsequent follow up Taken sequels in 2012 and 2015 as well as other similar action thriller films like Non-Stop and The Commuter. Now, Summit Entertainment (as well as Studiocanal) and director Hans Petter Moland presents the latest Liam Neeson film with the movie Cold Pursuit; a Hollywood remake of a 2014 Norwegian film. Does this revenge thriller find its aim or does get lost within its own cold / harsh environment?
Film Summary
In a ski resort town near Denver, Colorado, Nils Coxman (Liam Nesson) is a snow plow driver and beloved by his community, trying to be a decent husband for his wife, Grace (Laura Dern), and their son, Kyle (Micheál Richardson). When Kyle shows up dead from a drug overdose, Nils loses his will to live, but soon finds a sense of purpose when his son’s badly beaten friend emerges from the shadow, explaining to the grieving father that a minor mistake with a cocaine shipment led to retaliation from Viking (Tom Bateman), a drug lord who’s dealing with his domestic issues.
Enraged, Nils follows the trail of Viking’s connections, meeting with corrupt men and killing them, getting rid of their bodies within the frigid waters of the surrounding area. Not sure what’s going on, Viking assumes trouble is coming from a rival Native American gang, fronted by White Bull (Tom Jackson), declaring war on the locals. While things begin to escalate between Viking and White Bull, Nils is caught in the middle; seeking revenge on Viking, while local cop Kim Dash (Emmy Rossum) follows the clues in this peculiar situation of violent disputes.
