In an effective bit of casting, Liam Neeson plays the enraged and bereaved parent.

from a heroin overdose; “he wasn’t a druggie” he murmurs to no one in particular. Alone and ignored, he initially contemplates suicide; instead, he decides to track down the boy’s killer and avenge the death himself.

This is, interestingly, an English-language remake by Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland, of his own 2014 comic thriller, Kraftidioten. Here too, he effectively blends Tarantino-esque pulp fiction, oddball humour and deadpan characterisation.

Laura Dern is wasted in the under-explored role of the mourning mother.

The vigilante dad’s primary target is a ruthless drug lord (Tom Bateman). Also on the scene are the villain’s estranged wife, their preternaturally calm son (Nicholas Holmes), a couple of clueless cops (Emmy Rossum-john Doman), and a Native-american drug dealer and rival (Tom Jackson).

A horde of henchmen with nicknames like Speedo,

Limbo and Mustang are bludgeoned to death in succession. The gratuitous violence is leavened by cheeky asides — a double-crossing hitman is requested to step clear of the spotless carpet, before being shot at point-blank range.

Quirkily, every time one of the baddies is dispatched, a name card with a small cross flashes across the screen. The death of the last victim in the film’s final scene is a humdinger.

With the exception of Laura Dern, who is wasted in the under-explored role of the mourning mother, the rest of the supporting actors are sufficiently zestful. As is Cold Pursuit.

his film should have been a stunning success. It’s a collaboration between James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez (the former acting as co-writer-producer; the latter as director), based on a dramatic graphic novel series.

Alita: Battle Angel also had a gargantuan budget (upwards of $200 million), the marquee value of three Oscar winners (Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali), and stellar visual-effects from the pathbreaking Weta Digital.

Sadly, style trumps substance, and there is little to mark this film out from the rest of the overpopulated sci-fi genre.

The script transports us to a post-apocalyptic world,