I can't decide whether it's my fault that this Liam Neeson movie passed me by, or whether it's because it came out in 2021 – during those 'unprecedented times' that we try not to talk about – or, frankly, because the actor makes so gaddamn many movies that it's hard to keep track.
Either way, adding to my record of 'shows and movies I missed but would like to see' is The Marksman – which is available on Amazon Prime Video right now. It looks like classic Neeson, playing as Arizonan rancher (well, ex-Marine marksman), Jim Hanson, who mostly wants to be left alone. But, of course, he's not going to be left alone – he's going to land headfirst into a scenario of right versus wrong and stand up for the former.
"I don't scare easy," says Neeson in the trailer, embedded above, giving echoes of classic one-liners from his myriad of movies. All those very many movies which are pretty much the same film over and over again. Except, The Marksman, at least to my eyes, looks like a more subtle variation on Neeson's norm. If only a little.
Given 2025's change in political climes, The Marksman, which is set near to the Mexican border, has renewed meaning. It's about Hanson protecting an 11-year-old boy, Miguel, who is being pursued by the cartel, and whose mother dies in a border shoot-out (not a spoiler, it's at the beginning of the trailer). Jim and Miguel's relationship becomes front and centre, as if the two are family.
Nonetheless, critics did not rate the movie highly, with The Marksman netting a lacklustre 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans, on the other hand, flip that score back to front – quite literally – with an 83% approval rating. That speaks volumes about viewers understanding what a Neeson movie is – but, actually, this is one of the higher-rated ones.
I've got so much to watch at the moment – Severance is my weekly go-to, with Silo also occupying my time (yes, I'm late to both) – but I'll certainly be adding The Marksman to my watch list. I've not been exploring Amazon Prime Video as readily as the other best streaming services of late, but this split-the-crowd Neeson flick looks like exactly what my weekend ordered!
