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The Marksman (2021 film)

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Wikipedia article




'The Marksman' is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Robert Lorenz. The plot follows a rancher and former Marine (Liam Neeson), living in an Arizona border town, who must help a young boy (Jacob Perez) escape a Mexican drug cartel. Katheryn Winnick, Juan Pablo Raba, and Teresa Ruiz also star.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on January 15, 2021, by Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Neeson's performance but criticized the film as being formulaic.

Plot



Former US Marine Corps Scout Sniper and Vietnam war veteran Jim Hanson, a widower and alcoholic lives along the Arizona-Mexico border alongside his dog, Jackson, and reports attempted illegal crossings to the United States Border Patrol, where his step-daughter Sarah Pennington works. One day, he encounters Rosa and her son Miguel, Mexican citizens fleeing from the cartel. After Hanson calls border patrol on them, a cartel gang led by Mauricio approaches. A shootout ensues, in which Hanson shoots and kills Mauricio's brother and Rosa is fatally wounded. Before dying, Rosa gives Hanson her family's address in Chicago.

Border patrol shows up and takes in Miguel. One of the gang members comes in and claims he's a relative of Miguel. Hanson sees their car outside the station and sneaks Miguel out. They begin their trip to Chicago. The gang get into America, arm themselves and follow Hanson and Miguel. They follow Hanson's credit card use to Route 66 in Texas. A corrupt cop follows Hanson and Miguel and pulls them over. He attempts to stall the pair and subdue Hanson. However, Hanson guesses he is corrupted and subdues him. A short while later, Mauricio and the rest of the cartel catch up with the corrupt officer and kill him while Hanson and Miguel watch from a distance.

Hanson and Miguel continue north. They stop at a motel, but the cartel shows up and kill Jackson. Hanson's car breaks down and the pair are forced to stop. Eventually, Mauricio and his men catch up to Hanson and a firefight breaks out on a nearby farm. Hanson kills three the cartel members, but Mauricio captures Miguel. After a skirmish, Hanson is stabbed but seriously wounds Mauricio with a gunshot. Hanson offers him a coup de grce leaving a single bullet in his gun or a choice to shoot Hanson. As Hanson and Miguel leave the farm, they hear a gunshot, indicating that Mauricio chose to commit suicide. After dropping Miguel at his family's home in Chicago, Hanson gets on a bus. He closes his eyes and presumably dies.

Cast



* Liam Neeson as Jim, a former U.S. Marines sniper and Vietnam War veteran

* Katheryn Winnick as Sarah, border patrol agent and step-daughter of Hanson

* Juan Pablo Raba as Mauricio, a deranged Mexican enforcer for the Vasquez Cartel

* Teresa Ruiz as Rosa, Miguel's mother who is on the run from the cartel

* Jacob Perez as Miguel, a boy who is on the run from the cartel with his mother

* Dylan Kenan as Randall

* Luke Rains as Everett

* Sean Rosales as Hernando

* Alfredo Quiroz as Carlos

Production



The project, originally titled 'The Minuteman', was announced in May 2019, with Liam Neeson set to star. In September 2019, it was announced that Winnick and Raba joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography occurred in Lorain, Portage County, and Chardon, Ohio. Filming also occurred in New Mexico, and wrapped in October 2019.

Release



'The Marksman' was initially scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on January 22, 2021, but was later moved up a week to January 15.

Reception



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Box office

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'The Marksman' grossed $15.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $7.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide of $23 million.

The film grossed $3.7 million over the four-day MLK opening weekend, the second Open Road/Neeson title to top the box office during the COVID-19 pandemic after 'Honest Thief' the previous October. The film played best in the South, with men making up 57% of the audience, and 72% being over the age of 25. It remained in first the following weekend with $2.03 million, then made $1.2 million in its third weekend and finished third.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 39% based on 104 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "'The Marksman' benefits from having Liam Neeson in the lead, but this formulaic action thriller should have aimed higher." On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by PostTrak gave the film a 73% positive score, with 46% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Jeannette Catsoulis of 'The New York Times' wrote: "Predictable to a fault, the movie coasts pleasurably on Neeson's seasoned, sad-sweet charisma." Michael O'Sullivan at 'The Washington Post' rated the film 2/4 stars, writing that it "proves itself to be the cinematic version of comfort food: satisfyingly familiar but full of starch and empty calories."

Owen Gleiberman at 'Variety', gave a more negative review, stating "Lorenz stages the action with a convincing ebb and flow, but thanks to an undercooked script what happens in between is mostly boilerplate." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a C and wrote "...'The Marksman' might be two three-ways short of 'The Mule', but almost everything about it from its 'get off my lawn' misanthropy to its general take on the uselessness of government in American life feels geared for a late-career Eastwood vehicle."

References




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