The Marksman

"Director Robert Lorenz has built his career around Clint Eastwood, producing films directed by the veteran since 'Blood Work' in 2002, as well as helming the interesting 'Trouble with the Curve', starring Clint -- his last as an actor under a third director. So it's no surprise that 'The Marksman' has a lot of Eastwood in it. Starring Liam Neeson (from 'Cold Pursuit'), the feature tells the story of a border resident between the United States and Mexico who finds himself, overnight, obligated to take care of a Mexican boy -- the mother died crossing and members of a cartel are after the child. From there, on one side there is the typical Neeson action with fighting, adrenaline and a dose of moments detached from current times. On the other, there is Lorenz looking for those Eastwood references by showing a conservative side of the United States, with guns and violence, but with a dose of humanity. It doesn't come close to 'Gran Torino', for example, but it's a good pastime."