A Walk Among The Tombstones

So I saw A Walk Among the Tombstones and it was OK but didn't blow me away. It's one of these "dark, gritty" thrillers where the good guys aren't that good and the bad guys are really really bad. Sort of like The Drop, the filmmakers do a good job of establishing a bleak rainy New York City at the end of 1999. Why they did that specific era is sort of lost on me, all we really get out of it is some random Y2K references and a semi-plausible explanation for why Liam Neeson can't use the internet, which leads him to befriend his punk kid sidekick.

Brian Bradely (or is it just "Astro"? KIDS THESE DAYS) is interesting as the sidekick just because unlike most movie he's way more belligerent than he is cute or funny. Meanwhile, Liam Neeson doesn't go full Taken in this movie, but he does do a bit of the menacing phone conversations that we've come to expect.

In general the movie relies way too much on "mysterious figures appearing behind you" type scares and implications of greater violence. There are parts of the movie that are clearly attempts to make a point or be artistic, but for me really falls flat. There's an extended section around the big finale that involve action occurring while the 12 steps from Alcoholics Anonymous are read, but only one or two of the steps seem to actually match up with the action on the screen, so it just seems random. Worth a look if you're in desperate need of a cops and robbers movie, or are a fan of late period Liam Neeson, otherwise pass.