Cold Pursuit

Going in: I hope it's just entertaining and don't expect more than a 7 or so. I expect this will be another action flick in the line of Taken or any number of revenge thrillers. The pull is that this seems to be someone without military skills. It's an "average Joe" although I don't know how Nesson is going to pull that off. I went on 2/21 with my friend Jason.

Popcorn: 8/10. I have to say, this movie was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't as much of a surprise as Hunter Killer but it was still pretty good. I probably won't buy it but I'd watch it with my daughter. I thought for sure it was a "standard" Liam Neeson action but film but actually it was a dark comedy - and probably more focus on the action than the comedy but there were some moments where the entire audience laughed. I would say it was actually a 7/10 but the surprise factor earns an extra point.

Art: 7/10. Great characters, overall a fun movie to watch. It suffered from bad cinematography and some mediocrity in the music and editing departments.

Acting: 5/6. There were 3 actors that caught my attention. The first was Liam Nesson because he's him. I know there was controversy here and honestly he wasn't much different than his other films. The second was Tom Bateman. He reminded me of a discount Patrick Wilson but just as entertaining. And finally, there was Nicolas Holmes, who played Bateman's son. Thoroughly enjoyable. And to all the women: there was no lack of weak women. Of the five main supporting characters. Two (Laura Dern and Emmy Rossum) were so/so but not bad. The other three (Julia Jones, Elizabeth Thai, and Dani Alverado - I think? Look for the secretary-type person in White Bull's shop) were just absolutely fun to watch. 

Music: 3/4. The music was fun, especially towards the beginning. It was my first clue I was watching a comedy. It was catchy. My only complaint is that the one catchy music theme didn't follow through the rest of the movie. It wasn't a theme or anything which is really too bad because it would have stuck.

Filming: 2/4. Unfortunately, this was the weakest point of the film. Throughout, there was a graininess problem, like someone forgot to adjust the ISO settings or worse, left it on automatic. In low-light situations, it's understandable, but this happened even in full daylight. Also, there were moments where the focus was off. I noticed a couple and my friend noticed way more. It was like the depth of field calculation was off just a bit and characters would be out of focus. But, they did manage to catch some great scenery and I didn't think they could do as much with snow as they did.

Art Dept: 3/4. The costuming was especially good, especially for the Native Americans. They reminded of rugged men living in the outskirts of Colorado which is interesting because even the villain didn't dress like that.

Editing: 3/4. Standard editing. The audio transitions were noticeable and pleasant. Video was pretty standard.

Story: 6/8. The strength of this movie is not in the plot but in the characters. We've seen this plot before but the characters were fun to watch and just enjoyable overall. It wasn't sappy. There's a lot of loss for the main character. Even in the trailer you get that. Again, the women characters were just hilarious and worthy of respect. It wasn't entirely spotless; some reliance on coincidence. The running theme seemed to be about fathers and sons but the movie didn't really go anywhere with it.

Directing: 4/6. I really liked this film. It was fun to watch and I look forward to watching it with others.

Production: 3/4. Seeing Liam Neeson in a comedy was switch, especially when it was marketed as an action film. Well played, sirs. Well played.

Orthodox thoughts (major spoilers and religious themes):
Select the text to view:

I get the feeling that this was a character driven movie and not theme driven. Within the film, there is a lot about fathers and sons. Nels loses his son in the first act. White Bull loses his son in the second act. And Viking losing his son Ryan kicks off the third act. So, there seems to be a lot about fathers and sons.

It was interesting watching Nels and Ryan together. Ryan grows up in this really rough household. And you get the sense that the bodyguards are better dads to him than his own. But during the early third act, you have this moment where he says "Have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome" which on the face of it, you wouldn't really expect that line to land. But there's a sense that this kid doesn't have a dad and you believe that Nels could be that dad.

It reminds me of how desperate most of us are for a father figure. We want that person to protect us, to read to us in bed, to spend time with us by showing us their world. And, as those kids get older, spend time in theirs.

And for as who are fathers, do we do that with our sons? It's a simple matter of inclusion. It doesn't even take time out of the day, you just have to include them in what you're doing and that's enough. I think even if they don't want to, asking means almost as much. I can't invite my kids to work, but I can to church. I haven't done that in a while.

And how much of this is reflected in God the Father. He wants to have that "dad" time with us but do we accept the invitation? My Protestantism is showing. But the craving is a reflection, an icon if you will, of our desire to have our Heavenly Father spend time with us and reach out. How sad that towards the middle of my life, I'm only now understanding that it wasn't Him who didn't invite me, but I who said I was busy.