Unlicensed P.I. Matt Scudder is hired by the brother of a fellow 12-stepper to find the men who murdered his wife. As he dives deeper into the case, it becomes clear that the men are serial killers with a vigilante mission.
There is nothing charming about these men, and there is nothing heartwarming about this movie. If you are triggered by brutal assault, rape, or children in peril, this is not the movie for you.
Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) is a former cop who gave up police work and drinking on the same day in 1991 after a bar where he was drinking is robbed and he chases down the perpetrators. Fast forward to eight years later at the height of the Y2K panic (seriously, the referential "time stamp" was really close to getting annoying) and he's attending AA meetings. One of his fellow addicts approaches him after with a proposal to help his brother. What follows is a grim, trudging tour of New York.
The movie is slow-paced. While there are a couple of fights and intense moments, there is nothing here a knitter couldn't stitch her way through and not be distracted. While I love Liam Neeson's career's second wind, this is not the best example of his newer work. There is no vengeance here, just basic, methodical police procedure.
I cannot go into the plot any more than this without giving away some of the small surprises that keep the film interesting, but I will say that if the movie has anything that approaches a bright spot, it's Scudder's befriending of a young homeless boy he meets in the library. As a setup for a franchise, this would not be a bad beginning, but they need to make it a little less depressing and bleak.
I give it a four out of five. No laughing out loud on this one, and no dropping of the needles. If you're working lace or something complicated, and don't mind the bleakness, then this movie is perfect for listening to while crafting.
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