GENSOCIAL
Aged action superstar Liam Neeson is back, and this time, it’s still personal. Despite claiming several times over the years that he has retired from the genre of revenge-style action movies, The Marksman is the newest piece of evidence that proves the actor just cannot walk away. The Marksman finds Neeson in familiar territory as an ex-Marine rancher who is forced to once again rely on his particular set of skills in order to thwart a gang of cartel assassins.
While living a peaceful, if lonely-looking life, the calm of the ranch is quickly interrupted by the arrival of a migrant mother and son, who are being pursued by the cartel. As expected, it does not take long for the bullets to start flying. The trailer arguably gives far too much away but should provide another action-packed thrill ride with Liam Neeson at its center.
Neeson stars in The Marksman as hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson, who simply wants to be left alone as he fends off eviction notices and tries to make a living on an isolated stretch of borderland. But everything changes when Hanson, an ex-Marine sharpshooter, witnesses 11-year-old migrant Miguel fleeing with his mother Rosa from drug cartel assassins led by the ruthless Mauricio.
After being caught in a shoot-out, a dying Rosa begs Jim to take her son to safety to her family in Chicago. Defying his cop daughter Sarah, Jim sneaks Miguel out of the local U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station and together, they hit the road with the group of killers in pursuit. Jim and Miguel slowly begin to overcome their differences and begin to forge an unlikely friendship, while Mauricio and his fellow assassins blaze a cold-blooded trail, hot on their heels. When they finally meet on a Midwestern farm, a fight to the death ensues as Jim uses his military skills and code of honor to defend the boy he’s come to love.
Directed by Robert Lorenz, who is best known for his frequent collaborations with Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood, The Marksman stars Katheryn Winnick as Sarah Pennington, Juan Pablo Raba as Maurico, Teresa Ruiz as Rosa, Jacob Perez as Miguel, and Luce Rains as Everett Crawford alongside Neeson as Jim Hanson.
The Marksman is just one of several actioners in Liam Neeson’s cinematic future. The actor can currently be seen in select theaters as aging former bank robber Tom Dolan in Honest Thief alongside Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan, Anthony Ramos and Robert Patrick. Hoping to cut a deal, Dolan agrees to return all the money he stole in exchange for a reduced sentence. But when two FBI agents set him up for murder, he must now go on the run to clear his name and bring them to justice in the typical way that only Neeson can, of course.
Neeson has also signed on to star in the thriller Retribution for Studiocanal, The Picture Company and Jaume Collet-Serra’s Ombra Productions. The movie is a remake of a 2015 Spanish flick El Desconcido about an unassuming businessman who finds himself pushed to his limits after receiving a phone call telling him that there’s a bomb in his car and he needs to do exactly what the bomber says or else it will explode. Of course, because things aren’t already tough enough for Neeson, his two children are also in the car. Clearly, much like his action hero characters, Liam Neeson does not know the meaning of the word ‘retired’.
The Marksman is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on January 22, 2021. This comes to us courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment.
