‘Marksman’ needs to reload
Neeson misses the target this time
There is absolutely nothing wrong with “The Marksman.”
Part Western, part road movie, the film from director Robert Lorenz never misfires. It is competently made and benefits from having ageless action star Liam Neeson at its center.
It’s also never interesting. There is nary a surprise to be found in the by-the-numbers script for what once was called “The Minuteman” by Chris Charles and Danny Kravitz.
And the food for thought offered in this tale involving the plight of Mexican people who live in fear of drug cartels amounts to little more than crumbs.
Neeson stars as Jim Hanson, who served in the Marines and now is a rancher living in an isolated stretch of borderland in Arizona. Although he has a loyal pooch, Jackson, he has largely been a loner in recent years, having lost his wife to cancer. To make matters worse, Jim is in danger of losing his property.
Understandably, stepdaughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick) worries when she’s tipped off that he’s seriously drowning his sorrows at a bar and makes sure he gets home safely.
Jim soon finds a purpose to drive him. Along the border, he encounters Rosa ( Teresa Ruiz) and her 11-year-old son, Miguel (Jacob Perez), who, while fleeing a cartel, illegally cross into the United States.
Cartel forces, led by the ruthless Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba), arrive on the Mexican side of the border fence and exchange words with Jim. While Jim originally had wanted to contact local Border Patrol officers — Sarah is one, by the way — to handle the situation, he tries to help mother and son flee.
While one bullet finds his truck, another fatally wounds Rosa, who implores Jim to get Miguel to family members in Chicago.
He eventually reluctantly agrees to this task. Jim — in vintage Neeson growl — utters an expletive and turns his truck around after leaving the suddenly parentless Miguel with authorities.
One problem Jim has is a reluctant travel companion, who initially feigns an inability to understand English but soon enough offers, “I don’t even want to be in your stupid country!”
But he slowly wins Miguel over with compassion and food — including the promise of a first-rate hot dog when they arrive in Chicago.
A bigger problem is Mauricio and company. While Jim’s truck is dripping fluid and later smoking, he also leaves an easy-to-follow trail of credit-card transactions.
Of course, the two sides eventually will meet, when, obviously, Jim’s titular abilities as a sharpshooter will come into play.
As ho-hum as “The Marksman” is most of the time, we just can’t resist Neeson (“Taken,” “The Commuter”), seen only months ago in another so-so theatrical release, “Honest Thief.”
No doubt because of its story, this romp isn’t the heightened action flick that so many of the recent flicks starring Neeson have been, although he does get his chances to take out some bad guys.
According to the movie’s production notes, Neeson, after reading the script, saw the lead character as “very Eastwoodian,” which appealed to Lorenz, a producer or assistant director on Clint Eastwood movies including “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River” and “The Bridges of Madison County.”
Although “The Marksman” doesn’t belong in the compa
ny of those films in terms of quality, you easily can imagine Eastwood in the role.
Even though the intimidating Mauricio is a one-dimensional villain — at least until the film’s climactic scene — Raba impresses.
Fans of hit Netflix series “Narcos” will know him from his portrayal of Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel business partner, Gustavo Gaviria.
Speaking of fans of television shows, those of History Channel’s “The Vikings” may be disappointed that Winnick’s Sarah isn’t a more significant character.
The actress doesn’t get the chance to show much here.
Young Perez, meanwhile, has very little acting experience, but he does a nice job as the scared and frustrated Miguel.
Behind the camera, Lorenz turns in a workmanlike effort.
You just wish he could have figured out some way to help “The Marksman” hit its target more forcefully.