The oddest thing about A Walk Among the Tombstones, which is written and directed by Scott Frank and is based on the 1992 Lawrence Block novel, is that the trailers would have you believe it’s an action film. The first half hour of the film will make you believe it is a crime thriller, and then the next half hour will almost convince you it’s a more serious remake of Cop and a Half. What it really is a crime thriller that has elements of all three, but does not mix them completely successfully.
The film opens with a sequence set in 1991 with alcoholic NYPD detective Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) who goes “Dirty Harry” on three perps who rob a bar that he is in. Because Scudder is drunk, the ensuring shootout ends with terrible consequences. Scudder quits the force, quits drinking, and begins working as a private investigator. A few months into 1999, one of Scudder’s fellow members of Alcoholics Anonymous approaches Scudder about his brother Kenny (Dan Stevens). Kenny’s wife was kidnapped and, despite paying the ransom, she was murdered. Scudder quickly deduces that Kenny hasn’t gone to the police because he is a drug trafficker, and despite initial hesitations eventually takes the case. He soon discovers that the culprits are a pair of sadistic freaks (David Harbour and Adam David Thompson), and this is far from their first murder of drug traffickers’ loved ones… and if Scudder doesn’t find them soon, it won’t be their last either.
Despite the commercials highlighting the action sequences, this isn’t an action movie like Taken because, frankly, Neeson’s character gets his ass kicked more than he kicks ass. The 1999 setting also forces Scudder to investigate the old fashioned way by sticking his nose in places where it doesn’t belong, and it also involves quite a bit about the impending confusion over the Y2K Crash that didn’t really happen. There is also a surprising amount of humor, mostly based on the confusion that stems from Scudder’s less-than-official status as an investigator.
Unfortunately, it’s during the investigative part where Scudder first encounters the street-wise computer user T.J. (Brian “Astro” Bradley), who helps Scudder with his investigation because he wants to become a detective too. I have never heard of Brian “Astro” Bradley, but he I found out that he was a contestant on The X Factor and starred in Earth to Echo, which I didn’t see. His character is easily the most cliche thing about the film, and his acting, mostly consisting of mush-mouthed delivery of stereotypical street slang, is awful. The moment he is introduced A Walk Among the Tombstones becomes a sort-of buddy cop movie with the old grizzled vet and smart-mouth young rookie tied in with the “tired old man takes responsibility for young orphan” schtick. Scott Frank is a proficient screenwriter — he’s written Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, and The Wolverine — and while I know T.J. was a character in the novels this film is based on, his presence in the film (particularly how he is portrayed by Bradley) robs it of some of its uniqueness and feels shoehorned into the narrative. Perhaps Bradley has a future in acting, but he’s way too unrefined for a role in a film like this at this point in his career. It’s also seems that the studio didn’t think much of his performance because his character is barely in any trailers despite his prominent role in the film, which adds to the misleading nature of the promotional material for this film.
Frank hasn’t directed a film since 2007’s The Lookout, which was a solid crime thriller featuring a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and A Walk Among the Tombstones makes me hope that he’ll direct movies more often. Neeson’s performance makes it worth a viewing, but I don’t think anyone would hold it against you if you find yourself a little bored during the less-than-thrilling parts of this 113 minute movie. Thankfully there are enough tense sequences to keep any viewer engaged and the 1999 setting at least makes it unique. Still, it’s a shame that the more cliche elements couldn’t have been addressed before filming to make it even better.
RATING: A solid 90 minute thriller stretched out to 113 minutes, but still worth a watch (6/10).
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