The Marksman is a 2021 American thriller film about an Arizona rancher who defends a young Mexican boy fleeing from drugs cartel assassins.
Directed by Robert Lorenz (Trouble with the Curve) from a screenplay co-written by Chris Charles, Danny Kravitz and Robert Lorenz, the movie stars Liam Neeson (Honest Thief; Taken and sequels; The Dark Knight; Batman Begins; The Haunting; The Dead Pool), Katheryn Winnick (The Dark Tower; Hellraiser: Hellworld), Teresa Ruiz (Bordertown), Juan Pablo Raba and Dylan Kenin.
Plot:
Hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) simply wants to be left alone as he fends off eviction notices and tries to make a living on an isolated stretch of the borderland. But everything changes when Hanson, an ex-Marine sharpshooter, witnesses eleven-year-old migrant Miguel (Jacob Perez) fleeing with his mother Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) from drug cartel assassins led by the ruthless Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba). After being caught in a shoot-out, a dying Rosa begs Jim to take her son to safety to her family in Chicago.
Defying his cop daughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick), Jim sneaks Miguel out of the local U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station and together, they hit the road with the group of killers in pursuit. Jim and Miguel slowly begin to overcome their differences and begin to forge an unlikely friendship, while Mauricio and his fellow assassins blaze a cold-blooded trail, hot on their heels. When they finally meet on a Midwestern farm, a fight to the death ensues as Jim uses his military skills and code of honour to defend the boy he’s come to bond with.
Reviews:
” …the film falls into that “time killer” category. If you have two hours to waste, it’s certainly passable entertainment. On the other hand, if you want to see something that really grabs you, this isn’t quite it.” The Aisle Seat
“Once the action gets going, The Marksman is pretty much one big chase scene. Jim, Miguel and Jackson the dog running from the Cartel. We have a lot of near misses and a damn good action finale. Jim lives up to his Marksman name. He’s a great shot. I’m not sure I would rewatch The Marksman anytime soon, but it is entertaining, and it is an improvement from Honest Thief.” Bulletproof Action
“The film is most effective not in the relatively brief action sequences — although a climactic shoot-out is well orchestrated — but rather in its depiction of the growing bond between Hanson and the young boy he’s risking his life to protect. This is where Neeson’s too-often underutilized (these days, at least) sensitivity as an actor kicks in, making the formulaic relationship feel credible and organic.” The Hollywood Reporter
“Neeson is a fine stand-in for the haggard soul of a country where people feel the need to take the law into their own hands, but his latest cinematic vendetta is so eager to get where it’s going that it loses any real sense of itself along the way. By the time The Marksman fades out on its very Eastwoodian finale, Clint’s touch doesn’t feel like an unsubtle inspiration so much as it does a severe kind of absence.” IndieWire
“The director, Robert Lorenz, stages the action with a convincing ebb and flow, but thanks to an undercooked script what happens in between is mostly boilerplate. Jacob Perez, as Miguel, has the quiet demeanor of a genuine kid, but there are moments when you wish he had more spice to him, that he was a bit more of a cutesy movie kid.” Variety
Release:
Elevation Pictures will release The Marksman in January 2020.
Cast and characters:
Liam Neeson … Jim
Katheryn Winnick … Sarah
Teresa Ruiz … Rosa
Juan Pablo Raba … Maurico
Dylan Kenin … Randall
Luce Rains … Everett Crawford
Dominic Cancelliere
Chase Mullins … Mark
Alex Knight … Carl Neeham
Ming Wang … Pedestrian
Grayson Berry … Customs Officer
Kellen Boyle … Dalton
Esodie Geiger … K9 Officer
Richard Fike … Truck driver
David DeLao … Coyote
Lelia Symington … Tina
Donat Balaj … Rick
Christopher Mele … Lee Hurst
Jared Corum … Deputy
Elias Gallegos … Agent Diaz
Gonzalo Robles … Latino Thug
Jeremy Evitts … Tattooed man
Christian Hicks … Agent Denny
Jacob Perez … Miguel
Sean A. Rosales … Hernando
Roger Jerome … Otto
Technical details:
1 hour 48 minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 2.39: 1
Trailer:
YouTube reviews:
