DOUBLING UP ON MEDIOCRITY
Of the two movies about anti-immigration Americans on the run, one has too much to say, the other not enough
An American civilian living near the border of Mexico won’t hesitate to call the U.S. Border Patrol when he sees undocumented immigrants trying to cross over. If necessary, he’ll even take matters into his own hands. After a tragic shooting, lifechanging decisions must be made in the blink of an eye, and a chase is on.
The immigration actioners “No Man’s Land” and “The Marksman” share those plot elements in common but tackle this complicated and provocative issue in vastly different manners, with “No Man’s Land” filled with good intentions and parables, while “The Marskman” is light on the social messaging and heavy on the clichés.
◆ Conor Allyn’s “No Man’s Land” is filled with noble ideas about the value of listening to and learning from the “other side” in the immigration crisis, but as it becomes increasingly heavy-handed, we feel as if we’re sitting in on a lecture. Frank Grillo’s Bill and Andie MacDowell’s Monica Greer and their grown sons Jackson (Jake Allyn, who co-wrote the screenplay) and Luke (Alex MacNicoll) live on a cattle ranch in the “No Man’s Land” between the Rio Grande and the official U.S.-Mexico border checkpoints. The Greers are often awakened by the sounds of their cattle scattering as undocumented border-crossers race across their property, usually led by a legendary coyote named Gustavo, a.k.a. the Shepherd (Jorge A. Jimenez).
One night, as Bill and his sons take up arms to defend their property, a confrontation turns horribly sideways, Gustavo’s young son is killed — and Jackson Greer flees on horseback across the river and into Mexico, pursued not only by Gustavo among other outlaws but by the world-weary Texas Ranger named Ramirez (George Lopez, once again doing fine work in a dramatic role). Folks, what we have here is an old-fashioned Western taking place in modern times. (Jackson’s horse is even named Sundance.)
The ensemble cast does a fine job of creating fully dimensional characters; nobody is a hero, nobody is all bad. As we’re reminded time and again, if only these folks had a chance to know one another before the shooting started, maybe this escalating tragedy could have been avoided.
But any lingering doubts about “No Man’s Land” trying too hard are erased when the overwrought, blood-spattered penultimate scene takes place in a church.
Right after a funeral.
◆ Just a few months after we saw Liam Neeson as a widowed Navy veteran trying to stay one step ahead of a bloodthirsty villain in “Honest Thief,” we get Liam Neeson as a widowed Marine combat veteran trying to stay one step ahead of a bloodthirsty villain in “The Marksman.” They’re equally mediocre efforts making B-movie use of Neeson’s particular set of skills as one of the great aging action heroes this side of Clint Eastwood.
In the case of “The Marksman,” nobody is “Taken” from Neeson’s Jim Hanson; this time around, HE’s the one doing the taking! Jim patrols the border as some kind of volunteer with a walkie-talkie who calls in sightings of Mexicans crossing in to the United States.
When there’s a tragic shootout, the ruthless drug cartel leader Maurico (Juan Pablo Raba) kills a young mother whose dying wish is for Jim to take her 11-year-son Miguel (Jacob Perez) to his only surviving family, in Chicago. Maurico’s brother was also killed in the confrontation, so when Jim heads north to Illinois with Miguel, Mauricio and his gunmen are in hot pursuit. (At one point, Mauricio yells, “You killed my brother!” I guess to remind us that Jim killed his brother.)
Director/co-writer Robert Lorenz is big on American flags flapping in the breeze, but he makes it clear Jim isn’t a bigot, he’s just a guy who has always tried to do the right thing. But for a movie called “The Marksman,” we rarely Jim actually demonstrating his marksmanship, as we’re left with Neeson again doing extended, hand-to-hand combat with a much younger, cockier foe who has no idea what he’s up against.
While that stuff might be new to this guy, we’ve seen it all before.