Synopsis

A gritty “shoot-em-up” with Liam Neeson set in the mean streets of New York over the course of one night. Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging Irish mob hitman known as the Gravedigger who is an extremely close confidant of the Mob Boss, Shawn Macguire (played by Ed Harris). Both men’s lives are quickly thrown into turmoil when Danny Macguire (Boyd Holbrook), Shawn’s only son, is involved in a drug deal gone bad and Mike Conlon (Joel Kinnaman), Jimmy’s only son, witnesses Danny executing the two men. Danny is aware of Mike’s presence and pursues him on foot, after being cornered by Danny and moments away from being killed, a shot rings out and Danny is down, killed by Jimmy. Watch Jimmy now try to keep his son alive and survive the night.

Review

“The Chairman” – This is a high paced, balls-to-the-wall thriller. Please note this is how to film action scenes on any budget. The main characters are well fleshed out with some very good performances from Liam Neeson & Ed Harris, unfortunately Joel Kinnaman is often woody and soulless and considering his character’s motivations throughout the movie this is a let-down that in no way helps. The scene transitions were an interesting use of Google Street View and twisting camera angles, placing an emphasis on the time and scale of the mission to escape. Look out for surprising performances from Vincent D’Onofrio and the rapper Common. 7/10

Rating

If you paid to see Taken 3, then you can definitely pay to see this far superior Liam Neeson kill fest. Otherwise, it’s a great popcorn flick, whether that be theatre or home popcorn, you chose.