'Cold Pursuit' review: Works well as a dark comedy rather than the revenge fantasy

Set in Kehoe, a small, snowy town near Colorado, the film starts off as a serious tragedy drama but soon turns into a quirky, black comedy. The film is based on the 2014 Norwegian thriller, In Order of Disappearance, starring Stellan Skarsgård in Neeson’s role.
Known for his roles in the Taken franchise, Neeson pulls off yet another father-seekingrevenge role to perfection. This time, however, his character, Nels Coxman, is not a highly trained assassin, but rather a humble snowplow driver. He, his wife Grace (Dern) and son Kyle (Richardson) live in a secluded lodge, nestled between the mountains. But their quiet life comes crashing down with Kyle dies mysteriously at the hands of local drug dealers. Nels then sets out to avenge his son’s death.

The drug kingpin, Viking (Bateman), is a vicious sociopath who has a gang of thugs with names like Speedo, Limbo and Santa. As he extracts bloody payback, Neeson maintains his character’s stoicism.

Director Hans Petter Moland manages to capture emotions well on screen. However, there are many story and character strands that don’t quite stick. Emmy Rossum as a Kehoe cop makes for an interesting watch. To sum up, Cold Pursuit works well as a dark comedy rather than the revenge fantasy one would expect from Neeson.