Cold Pursuit

Name: Cold Pursuit
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: February 8, 2019
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Aleks Paunovic, Ben Hollingsworth, Bradley Stryker, David O'Hara, Domenick Lombardozzi

2019

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Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 64 Ratings

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6.0

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6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 64 Ratings

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Cold Pursuit

Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: February 8, 2019

Starring: Aleks Paunovic, Ben Hollingsworth, Bradley Stryker, David O'Hara, Domenick Lombardozzi, Elysia Rotaru, Emily Bruhn, Emmy Rossum, Jim Shield, John Doman, Julia Jones, Laura Dern, Liam Neeson, Michael Eklund, Micheál Richardson, Nicholas Holmes, Raoul Trujillo, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Victor Zinck Jr., Wesley MacInnes, William Forsythe

Movie Facts: Cold Pursuit is a remake of In Order of Disappearance starring Stellan Skarsgård.

Summary: Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a family man whose quiet life with his wife (Laura Dern) is upended following the mysterious death of their son. Nels' search for justice turns into a vengeful hunt for Viking (Tom Bateman), a drug lord he believes is connected to the death. As one by one each of Viking's associates "disappear," Nels goes fromNels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a family man whose quiet life with his wife (Laura Dern) is upended following the mysterious death of their son. Nels' search for justice turns into a vengeful hunt for Viking (Tom Bateman), a drug lord he believes is connected to the death. As one by one each of Viking's associates "disappear," Nels goes from upstanding citizen to ice-cold vigilante, letting nothing - and no one - get in his way.… Expand

Director: Hans Petter Moland

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 min

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Awards & Rankings

15	#15 Most Discussed Movie of 2019
64	#64 Most Shared Movie of 2019

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

New York Post - Johnny Oleksinski

Feb 12, 2019

Cold Pursuit is stark and refreshing, like taking an icy swim with the Polar Bear Club. A jolt. The movie makes you want him to stay around for a while longer. Read full review

Empire - Ian Freer

Feb 20, 2019

A typically taciturn turn from Neeson is surrounded by a colourful cast, gallows humour and complete disrespect for cinematic stereotypes. A little bloated, maybe, but deserves kudos for joining the road not Taken. Read full review

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

Feb 11, 2019

Cold Pursuit has a strong current of dark humor winding through the proceedings. With a nod or two to Quentin Tarantino, he has fashioned a bizarrely entertaining ode to violence, gangsters, and heavy snowfall in the Rockies. Read full review

Washington Post - Mark Jenkins

Feb 5, 2019

An action thriller in which the Irish actor plays Nels Coxman, a snowplow operator at a Colorado ski resort with the death-dealing skills of a special-ops commando. This time, the absurdity is intentional. Read full review

TheWrap - Alonso Duralde

Jan 28, 2019

While director Hans Petter Moland’s remake of his own film “In Order of Disappearance” (Frank Baldwin adapts the original screenplay by Kim Fupz Aakeson) may fall short of its goals, it’s hard not to admire the film’s ambitions — and certain scenes, performances and even one-liners — even as its flaws start piling up. Read full review

New York Magazine (Vulture) - Bilge Ebiri

Feb 11, 2019

Cold Pursuit ultimately winds up being about how unsatisfying films like Cold Pursuit can be. Read full review

Wall Street Journal - Joe Morgenstern

Feb 7, 2019

The stupidity lacks smarts in the script department, and the joke, such as it is, wears thin, then turns sour. Read full review

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User Reviews

MarkHReviews

Feb 19, 2019

“Cold Pursuit” works at a lot of levels – on the ground, on mountain passes, in the air (the hang glider, really?!). It’s also a dark, sophisticated send-up of the revenge genre. With a title presumably inspired by the trope that “revenge is a dish best served cold,” this film starts out“Cold Pursuit” works at a lot of levels – on the ground, on mountain passes, in the air (the hang glider, really?!). It’s also a dark, sophisticated send-up of the revenge genre. With a title presumably inspired by the trope that “revenge is a dish best served cold,” this film starts out as an exercise in paint-by-numbers, but then veers off the guardrails into something much more interesting.

As Nels Coxman, Liam Neeson appears arthritically convincing as a 66-year-old action figure (“Taken,” “Taken 2,” if only there had been “the road not taken”). Coxman is a simple man. His Open Road snowplow business makes travel between Kehoe, Colorado and the outside world generally passable. He’s even named “Man of the Year” for his efforts. When his son is murdered by minions from a Denver drug gang, Coxman goes totally off the rails, murdering three drug runners complicit in the act and picking a fight with the drug lord himself. There’s no establishment of how Coxman has developed his sudden prowess in fights or with firearms. (I relied on the new Captain Marvel trailer for inspiration.) Neeson makes up for these oversights by brooding persuasively.

Eventually, though, this film evolves from a formulaic revenge story to a dark comedy. The first clue is that after the first death, a card pops up, joltingly, with the name of the deceased, his nickname and a cross above the writing. The process is repeated with each new killing. After a particularly brutal showdown, there are more than a dozen names on the screen. The genre-bending doesn’t end there. In a resort hotel, a menacing gangster growls about what he might do to the hotel employee who has displeased him – with his brutal comments on Yelp. When Coxman’s young abductee requests a bedtime story, Coxman obligingly lies quietly beside his captive, reading the child the sales brochure for a new snowplow he recently purchased. At the end of the film, the cast is listed “in order of disappearance.”

This last bit is a deep bow to the original source material: the Norwegian film “In Order of Disappearance” (2014) starring Stellan Skarsgard. Much of the film has a Scandinavian sensibility, particularly since Norwegian director Hens Petter Moland has directed this film as well as the original.

“Cold Pursuit” is refreshing, sometimes exhilarating and a totally unexpected departure from the revenge genre. If “Taken” and “Fargo” had a lovechild, and the Coen brothers acted as midwives, this might be that movie. But be forewarned: there’s a lot more blood in “Cold Pursuit” than that wood chipper ever generated.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Treva

Feb 10, 2019

Cold Pursuit is unlike most of what Liam Neeson has done before. It is a black comedy, more akin to Three Billboards and Fargo than, for example, the Taken franchise movies. One ruthless, uncaring mistake by a gang tears an average working man's family apart and starts an avalanche ofCold Pursuit is unlike most of what Liam Neeson has done before. It is a black comedy, more akin to Three Billboards and Fargo than, for example, the Taken franchise movies. One ruthless, uncaring mistake by a gang tears an average working man's family apart and starts an avalanche of killings in the snows around Denver, Colorado, in the height of winter. On the way, it has a bit to say about bad choices, karma, racism and even free trade. Very funny, very black, and very violent, it features some very interesting performances, too.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

garethvk

Feb 13, 2019

Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a simple man who spends his days clearing the roads in a remote Colorado Ski Town and spends his days with his wife and his son. Nels is so unassuming that when he is awarded Citizen of the Year he states that there are others far more worthy and fusses overNels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a simple man who spends his days clearing the roads in a remote Colorado Ski Town and spends his days with his wife and his son. Nels is so unassuming that when he is awarded Citizen of the Year he states that there are others far more worthy and fusses over getting dressed up to accept the award and make a speech.
When his son is found dead of a Heroin overdose; Nels is not willing to accept that his son was a user even though this puts tremendous strain on his marriage and has taken Nels to consider suicide. At his worst moment he learns that his son’ co-worker was involved with some shady dealing and that his son was likely collateral damage from the criminal elements involved.

With a new found sense of purpose: Nels embarks on a quest to find the truth and avenge his son’s death no matter the consequences.

One would think that “Cold Pursuit” is a standard revenge film but it unexpectedly changes direction shortly after Nels starts exacting his revenge. The film transforms into a Dark Comedy of sorts as characters get a Title Screen when they are killed many of which have a morbid humor to them. The film even takes the bold step of moving away from Neeson for a good third of the film and putting the emphasis on other characters from rival crime organizations to the Sherriff and his eager Detective (Emmy Rossum).

As such the film is not what you expect as although there is plenty of action at times; it is a Dark Comedy with dramatic elements. It is more in line of what you might expect at a Film Festival from an Indie studio versus a major studio release.

As such fans of Neeson may be disappointed in seeing a departure from the type of films they have come to expect from him in recent years while others may embrace the quirky nature of the film.

3 stars out of 5… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LamontRaymond

Feb 8, 2019

One of the craziest, funniest revenge flicks I've ever seen. Definitely check your "plot hole" radar at the door. There are so many through lines in this sucker, it's sometimes too much, but there are so many likable element to it, you can forgive minor inconsistencies.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

GreatMartin

Feb 8, 2019

I have been a fan of Liam Neeson since the 1980s and have been watching his turning into an action star at the age of 58 with "Taken" and I wish he would take a detour now and then back to 'the good old days' like "Schindler's List", "Rob Roy" or "Love Actually". With "Cold Pursuit" weI have been a fan of Liam Neeson since the 1980s and have been watching his turning into an action star at the age of 58 with "Taken" and I wish he would take a detour now and then back to 'the good old days' like "Schindler's List", "Rob Roy" or "Love Actually". With "Cold Pursuit" we already know the formula of his losing a family member, in this case, his son, and then the bloodbath starts.

It isn't long before Nels Coxman (Neeson) is killing one guy after another, then choking one before shooting, wrapping another and dumping him down a mountains falls and I stopped counting after the body total reached 15 and that wasn't even half of it. In a sense score is kept for you as each death in listed on the screen. Along with the high body count there is blood all over the place from bride's gowns to snow to a murderer asking a victim to move off a rug to not bloody it. Many attempts at humor fail but a few really get across and the scenes filmed in Alberta standing in for Denver, and a fictionalized ski town called Kehoe, never fail to be anything but beautiful. Nels is a snow pile driver and aside from many shots of him clearing snow for traffic there is also 2 shots of ways to use the snow pile machinery to kill people that aren't half as bad as other killings in the movie. The whole basis of the story is 'a son for a son' when one son is killed and another is threatened before a third son is killed. The father of one son is really a sick, controlling guy who can't quite get the better of his ex-wife even though he is the head kingpin of drug distribution.

Talking about a wife though it seems Laura Dern will play a major part of the movie but is in it too briefly. Actually women have a better showing for a movie like this with Dern, Julia Jones as the aforementioned ex and Emmy Rossum as a serious get them police officer. I love her in "Shameless", the series on Showtime, and was glad to see her. There are many roles, including all those killed, giving the actors time to impress without all that time on the screen.

"Cold Pursuit" is an okay genre movie that most people will like but if you don't see it you won't miss it.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

yeltneb93

Feb 27, 2019

Cold Pursuit has a style all its own which really makes it stand out from the crowd whether that's for good or for bad remains to be seen. The death cards after every death are visually interesting and fresh, but me halt the momentum of the film that already struggles to build tension. ItsCold Pursuit has a style all its own which really makes it stand out from the crowd whether that's for good or for bad remains to be seen. The death cards after every death are visually interesting and fresh, but me halt the momentum of the film that already struggles to build tension. Its character are interesting if not a bit stereotypical in the ways they act in the face of some situations. If you're itching to go out and see a movie that's different and takes some chances see cold pursuit. If your looking for a masterpiece id suggest looking elsewhere.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Daniel_Endure

Feb 8, 2019

In no way, shape, or form is Cold Pursuit, "Taken on ice." A better way to describe the film is boredom on ice, or better yet, gutter trash on ice. This movie doesn't have a single redeeming moment in it. It's also not an action flick by the way; it's an overlong drama where the writers areIn no way, shape, or form is Cold Pursuit, "Taken on ice." A better way to describe the film is boredom on ice, or better yet, gutter trash on ice. This movie doesn't have a single redeeming moment in it. It's also not an action flick by the way; it's an overlong drama where the writers are more concerned about having side characters go off on some nonsense monologue rather than entertaining the audience with the thrills you'd expect from a Liam Neeson adventure. Okay, yes, I do have to give it some credit, there is a grand total of two minutes where Neeson punches some people in the face without them fighting back. The worst part about the film is that it all feels so unnatural... Some awful side plots between the police and a rival gang are thrown in and don't add up to much of anything. This is a zero out of ten, because in no way is any of it enthralling.… Expand

3 of 10 users found this helpful37

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