Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Despite The Marksman’s name and Liam Neeson starring, it is perhaps one of his least violent, most talkative movies yet.
| Director(s) | Robert Lorenz |
| Screenplay By | Chris Charles, Danny Kravitz, Robert Lorenz |
| Date Released (Theatrical) | 1/14/2021 |
| Genre(s) | Action, Adventure, Crime |
| Duration | 1 Hour, 48 Minutes |
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Noted Cast | |
| Jim (James) | Liam Neeson |
| Rosa | Teresa Ruiz |
| Miguel | Jacob Perez |
| Sarah | Katheryn Winnick |
This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text may contain affiliate links, which, if a purchase is made, we’ll earn money or products from the company.
Film Summary
After the death of his wife, Jim lived a quiet life as a rancher. Not one who was making a notable amount of money, hence him about to lose his ranch, but he wasn’t just going to give up without trying. After all, he was in the marines, fought in a war, so a bank taking his last bit of dignity? That wasn’t going to happen.
And if it wasn’t for Rosa and her son Miguel, Jim would have focused on saving his home. However, after catching those two crossing the Mexico/Arizona border, he gets involved in them running from the cartel, and his home becomes the least of his worries. Especially as the cartel comes guns a blazing and kills anyone, men, women, children, you name it, who get in the way of them getting who they came for.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Reason(s) for Film Rating: Minor cursing, gunfights, physical fights, drinking, and blood.
- Jump Scares/ Laughs/ Tear-Jerking Moments: When certain entities die, you might get in your feelings
Cast & Characters
James
Retired from the military, but a rancher to make ends meet, James is struggling. His wife is dead, cattle underweight, his ranch is on the border, so he finds himself having a closer relationship with border patrol, and you can tell things are becoming a bit much. Add in a former drinking problem, and Miguel and Rosa’s introduction into his life may have given him purpose.
Rosa
Thanks to a warning from her brother, Rosa makes her way to her family in Chicago with her son by her side and stolen money in her bag.
Miguel
Rosa’s son would prefer to stay than run, but with the cartel wanting to wipe out their entire family, he has no choice.
Sarah
The daughter of James’ departed wife who seems to have a strained relationship with James. If not the kind of relationship which certainly doesn’t make you believe the two have daddy/daughter dates when she isn’t working for border patrol.
Review
On The Fence
If You Watch Liam Neeson Movies Mainly For The Action, You May Feel There Is Too Much Talking
Unlike October’s Honest Thief, The Marksman seems to want to be slightly more than a throwaway action movie you watch once, maybe twice, and that’s it. It tries to give some meat to Neeson’s role by making him a widow, a veteran, and him finding meaning in his life by helping this kid.
The problem is, Neeson, in combination with Perez, doesn’t push you to get into your feelings and become emotionally invested. If you’re like me, you don’t see Liam Neeson movies to get into your feelings; you come to see a man of a certain age whip ass with the same vigor as people half his age. Which, at times, you get in The Marksman, but not enough. For between Jim trying to bond with Miguel, wondering whether Sarah is Jim’s step-daughter or estranged biological daughter, the shootouts with the cartel seem almost like an afterthought.
And take note, the cartel is brutal. They really do kill someone who looks like a minor and is a woman, have absolutely no issue shooting at Miguel and his mother, and are merciless. Yet, be it that we’ve come to the point of building up a tolerance to Neeson’s movies or this not just giving the action but trying to be deeper than it needs to, something just doesn’t click.
Overall
Rating: Mixed (Divisive)
Hence the mixed label. The Marksman just doesn’t give you the action you expect from a Liam Neeson movie. And while you should appreciate the push to bring his more dramatic acting chops to his action roles, it just isn’t executed well in The Marksman.
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The Marksman Ending (Spoilers)
After Rosa’s death, James makes it to Chicago to drop Miguel with some of Rosa’s family. And on that journey, he kills all four cartel members who chased him and Miguel across the country. But, in the final fight, with the one who killed Rosa, James takes a fatal wound, and after he drops off Miguel, he appears to die on a city bus.
Does The Marksman Have Prequel/ Sequel Potential?
Sequel potential? No, for it appears James died. As for prequel? Well, considering James is talented with a rifle, it could be interesting to see his time in the marines alongside his relationship with his wife. Never mind develop his relationship with Sarah and help us understand what their relationship is.
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