A Walk Among The Tombstones [Blu-Ray]
Director: Scott Frank
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10
Plot Summary:
In this intense thriller, Liam Neeson plays Matt Scudder, an ex-NYPD cop turned unlicensed private investigator who reluctantly agrees to help a drug trafficker (Dan Stevens) hunt down the men who brutally murdered his wife. When the PI learns that this is not the first time that these men have committed this sort of twisted crime — nor will it be the last — he must blur the line between right and wrong as he races to track the deviants through the backstreets of New York City before they kill again.
‘A Walk Among The Tombstones’ follows Matt Scudder, an ex-cop turned unlicensed Private Detective. When a friend of his from Alcoholics Anonymous (which Scudder has been attending since a violent event that occurred years ago on the last day of his role in the Police Department) begs Matt to speak with his brother about a job he reluctantly agrees and soon discovers that his friend’s brother is in fact a large caliber drug trafficker. While initially hesitant to take the job due to the man’s career, he soon relents and accepts after learning two men kidnapped and held the man’s wife for ransom and yet still subsequently killed her, something Matt Scudder discovers that they have done numerous times already and will therefore likely do again. Soon things begin to spiral out of control and Scudder just may have to work with these criminals more than he had intended to stop these psycho’s from killing anyone else before it’s too late.
Written for the screen and directed by Scott Frank (writer and director of ‘The Lookout’) ‘A Walk Among The Tomstones’ is based on the tenth novel (if I’m not mistaken) in the Matt Scudder: Private Detective’ book series by author Lawrence Block. Scott Frank does a solid job in the role of director (as well as screenwriter) on this one, proving himself more than capable of maintaining suspense, mystery and some gritty hard hitting action, as well as guiding this cast of talented individuals with seemingly apparent ease. The cast includes a number of talented and familiar faces such as Liam Neeson (doing what he does best), along with Dan Stevens (The Guest, TV’s Downton Abbey), Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl, The Skeleton Twins), David Harbour (TV’s The Newsroom) and a number more, all of whom deliver more than competent performances here.
‘A Walk Among The Tomstones’ is a gritty thriller with more than enough intense and action packed sequences to keep the masses entertained. It has a few issues, such as suffering from a few scenes throughout that drag, along with a couple of performances that aren’t quite on par with the majority of the quite talented cast here, but for the most part it’s a well done and entertaining film that is more than worth the watch. Fans of Liam Neeson doing what he does best will without question want to make sure and check this one out, as he’s at top form here, calm and composed while taking no nonsense and never afraid of a dilemma or obstruction that might be thrown his way. In short, ‘A Walk Among The Tombstones’ is a pretty solid and entertaining film that delivers some hardcore action and excitement and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks impressive overall, up to Universal’s usual high standards. The numerous fast moving and action oriented sequences look great, as do the darker sequences, neither resulting in pixilation or banding as a result of the surroundings and always looking fantastic as well. No real faults of any sort were noticeable throughout on my end and most folks should be more than pleased with this solid high definition video presentation.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack which sounds quite impressive and takes full advantage of the action sequences to fully utilize all five of the available channels, throwing gunshots among other audio effects whizzing past the viewer in these scenarios and I must say that it definitely adds another level to the enjoyment of the movie. The dialogue, score and all auditory elements sound crisp and clean throughout, no elements of the sound ever detracting from or contrasting the others. Overall, a more than capable lossless soundtrack that should leave most folks quite satisfied.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ doesn’t include too much in the way of bonus content, but it does contain a couple of featurette’s that take a look behind the movie and its basis. The first Featurette ‘A Look Behind The Tombstones’ runs approximately 12 minutes and looks at the production of the film and what went into making it come to life, including interviews with the cast and crew. The second featurette ‘Matt Scudder: Private Eye’ runs approximately 6 minutes in length and explores the inspiration for the film, the character from Lawrence Block’s book series and also includes an interview with the author himself.
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