Private investigator Matthew Scudder (Liam Neeson) is hired by a drug kingpin (Dan Stevens) to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

While there is nothing new about this film, it still manages to offer some thrills that only Liam Neeson can pull off. The main thing that this movie had going for it was Neesons character Matthew Scudder. While he's played former cops in other movies, he does so differently in this one as he his tragic backstory comes into play, and it gives his character more than a guy who shows up and saved the day. There are a few fight scenes, but this crime thriller focuses more on his investigating than ass kicking which I appreciated, it wasn't without its cliches.

It had a very noir atmosphere that really added to this film, and it complemented the setting very well. Neeson actually felt vulnerable and made for a more compelling film, he had flaws and made him a lot more human than he is used to being. It is quite a dark movie that I actually didn't mind.

Some issues I had are with the villains and with the street kid TJ. Seeing Neeson grow close to the kid just felt like a strange addition. It may have been used to tone down how dark this thriller is and give Matthew a sense of purpose and someone to care for, but if that's the case it didn't work for me. The villains are also a big problem. While David Harbour was really creepy, his character never became anything more than just evil. He was not developed well enough and was just another bad guy for Neeson to stop. He didn't seem to have any motives that made us understand him.

It managed to keep me interested throughout and is a fairly well made movie that Neeson makes better. 6/10.