The Marksman (2021) Review

Directed By: Robert Lorenz

Starring: Liam Neeson, Jacob Perez, Katheryn Winnick, Juan Pablo Raba, Teresa Ruiz

Synopsis: 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 borderland. But everything changes when Hanson, an ex-Marine, witnesses 11-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, an injured Rosa begs Jim to take her son to safety to her family in Chicago. Defying his stepdaughter 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.

Review: Liam Neeson returns to the action genre with The Marksman.

Liam has been quite busy recently keeping his action fans thirst quenched with Honest Theif and now The Marksman.

The Marksman isn’t your average Neeson by the motions action movie it is a road movie that has a great character story with action elements along with an underlying western theme which sees Neesons character Jim Hanson on a redemptive quest. When we meet Neesons character Jim he isn’t really sympathetic about the people crossing the border, even when he initially meets Miguel and Rosa and Rosa ends up getting killed he leaves Miguel with border patrol to be taken back to Mexico, naturally his conscience catches up with him and realising this child will die without his help he steps up.

The Marksman could have easily been a Clint Eastwood movie, that being said director Robert Lorenz has worked with Eastwood on many occasions, it’s almost like this movie is an homage to Eastwood.

Once the movie gets going it essentially becomes a road movie and on this journey we get to truly know Jim and Miguel, while there’s the big age difference they have more in common then they initially believe.

Juan Pablo Raba plays the terrifying Mauricio who is on the trail of Neeson and Miguel. Mauricio is very cold, he kills and beats anyone who gets in his way. Lives mean nothing to him.

The action in The Marksman isn’t center focus but when we do get our set pieces they’re fun to watch. The finale was a highlight and I am sure most will cheer when Neeson goes into Marksman mode.

The Marksman is a solid movie and I think if Neeson is to do more action movies he makes one that focus on the characters more as he delivers such a solid performance.