THE MARKSMAN

TJR REVIEW

(TJ=62, CRITICS=44, USERS=67)

This is a “good little action movie,” the kind Liam Neeson has been working for the last three years. Liam plays a Vietnam marine veteran with a silver star who is down on his luck having lost his wife to cancer and in the process of losing his scruffy ranch on the Arizona-Mexico border. One afternoon he saves some migrants at the border and, in doing so, crosses the Mexican drug cartel (you know, the shaved-head guys with too many tattoos that drive black SUVs and carry Uzi pistolas).

However, this is not a typical don’t mess with Rambo movie. Liam’s character does what he has to do to help fellow human beings?and so do the other American characters in the movie. We gave it a score of 62, above the 60 point mark on the Metacritic scale?good but not great. The users gave it 67 points.

In one scene, as the ex marine lowered the U.S. Flag on his ranch, I thought this good but not great movie would be an excellent “asshole” test for the critics. I was right. The critics’ average score was 44 points. Good reviewers like Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter (a publication that also features good reviewers like Michael Wilmington and John DeFore) gave “Marksman” a good score (70). Meanwhile, The New York Times (40) condescended that “Neeson’s seasoned, sad sweet charisma?an asset that’s been tragically imprisoned in…generic action thrillers…”

I’m glad the movies are back, and I’m glad that Liam Neeson is in them.