Mystery novelist Lawrence Block's world-weary detective Matthew Scudder is capably embodied here by Liam Neeson in an obvious bid to start a new film franchise. The 1991-set prologue establishes Scudder as a former NYC cop, a recovering alcoholic who gave up booze after a shootout that went tragically awry. By 1999, Scudder has become an unlicensed investigator, noting: “I do favors for people….in return, they give me gifts.” Recruited by recovering junkie Peter Kristo (Boyd Holbrook), Scudder reluctantly takes a case involving Peter's drug-dealing brother, Kenny (Dan Stevens), whose wife was kidnapped and killed even after he paid a $400,000 ransom. But then another female victim is discovered—dismembered in Brooklyn's historic Greenwood Cemetery—and the daughter of a Russian drug dealer (Sebastian Roche) is taken hostage. Clues lead to a pair of sadistic serial killers (David Harbour, Adam David Thompson) who purposely target someone related to a criminal so that police won't be summoned. After questioning the graveyard's creepy groundskeeper (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), Scudder pursues the culprits with the help of a young apprentice (Brian “Astro” Bradley), a homeless teen who wants to be a private eye. Adapted and directed by Scott Frank, this grimly intense thriller alternates between long, talky interludes and sequences of explicit, horrific violence. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (12 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Matt Scudder: Private Eye” character segment (6 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Universal, 113 min., R, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.98, Jan. 13 Volume 29, Issue 6
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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