We live in a world without heroes. Not exactly since there are the unsung heroes out there in the military, fire fighters and police forces saving lives on a daily basis. But we don’t have those larger than life heroes that people grew up with in the past. No John Glens, no Davy Crocketts, no George Washingtons. Today even some of those heroes are being dismantled by angry protesters who want to judge the actions of the past on the morals of today. This makes people shy away from being a hero due to the microscopic nature of the media both social and mainstream.
So we find ourselves living through heroes that are created from the atmosphere instead. Some come at us in the form of game playing. Others through literature. But most come from the movies. The adventures and heroics of larger than life heroes, some who volunteer to do so and others forced into it. THE MARKSMAN tells the story of a hero from that latter category.
Liam Neeson stars as Jim Hanson, an Arizona rancher struggling to bet by. Jim works part time in co-operation with the Border Patrol as he rides along the border fence and spots illegals entering the country. Having lost his wife the year before and about to lose the ranch he gets some support from his step-daughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick) who works for the Patrol but things look bleak.
One day while riding the fence Jim comes across a woman and her young son. Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) and Miguel (Jacob Perez) are on the run from the cartel after her brother steals from them. Jim calls in the Patrol and tells her he will take her in, that she should be safe. Before he can do so cartel members led by Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba) arrives. A shootout follows leaving Mauricio’s brother dead and Rosa mortally wounded. After they escape she pleads with Jim to take Miguel to her family in Chicago.
Still thinking the proper way is the best, Jim takes Miguel to the Border Patrol. Things change when he realizes that someone there is working with the cartel and that Mauricio is about to get his hands on the boy. Entering the facility Jim sneaks Miguel out the back but not before he’s seen by the bad guys. The story is set and now it’s a race to Chicago with the bad guys in hot pursuit.
This film should be an easy one for Neeson. He’s perfected the role of the tough guy who knows how to handle a gun and deal with situations like this. Each one has specific talents to quote his line from TAKEN and here Jim is an expert marksman with a medal to prove it. His character spent two tours in Vietnam and he has no problem taking out the bad guys from a distance. But that’s the ideal situation and ideal situations are rare in films like this.
Knowing up front what type of movie this is going to be the question is how do you put a spin on it that we haven’t seen before? In this case it’s the young boy Miguel. Neeson may be the down on his luck ex-Marine with the skills but why put himself at risk? It is because of the boy Miguel, an innocent who is in need of someone, a hero, to stand up for him. He does so because it’s the right thing to do.
At first confrontational the pair eventually come to grips with their situation. On their journey they bond and get to know one another. It is this that makes the movie something different from other Neeson films.
With the controversy about the border these days one would think that would have been the main issue here. Thankfully that’s not the case and the movie focuses more on individual placed in situations beyond their control instead. In other words no political posturing is seen here, just an action film that delivers the goods. At the same time it feels sort of routine. So if you’re a fan of Neeson films like this enjoy.
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