Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) is a former Marine who spent two tours in Vietnam. He now lives on a small ranch on the Arizona/Mexico border. Jim recently lost his wife to cancer, and due to the surmounting medical bills, is about to lose his ranch to the bank as well. His step-daughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick) works for Border Patrol, and so he is often calling up BP to take care of things whenever he sees IAs (illegal aliens) making their way across his property. One day, while Jim is driving back to his home, he encounters a wounded Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) and her son Miguel (Jacob Perez) who have just crossed through the border fence, and detains them. They are being chased by Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba) and other members of a Mexican cartel, who demand that Jim hand them over. Rosa’s brother had stolen a lot of money from the cartel, and they want her to pay it back.

Jim stands his ground, a gunfight ensues, and in the process, Mauricio’s brother ends up dead. Jim already has his own issues to deal with, and doesn’t want to get involved, but he makes a promise to Rosa that he will get her son to his family in Chicago. However, Mauricio is eager for revenge for the death of his brother, and will stop at nothing until he gets it—Mauricio has cartel connections within the U.S. and corrupt law enforcement to help him track and follow Jim. So as Jim heads out on his journey with this young boy who doesn’t speak English, he is unaware that he is being pursued by a ruthless killer. At the same time, Jim may look like an old man, but he is resourceful and has a very particular set of skills, and Mauricio may be underestimating his target.

While Liam Neeson seems to do a lot of these similar kinds of films these days, The Marksman is more of a character-driven drama like Honest Thief, rather than an all-out action film like Taken. In some ways, the movie feels like a more modern-day News of the World. Jim is a former soldier who is still grieving over the loss of his wife, and now is about to lose the only home he has left. As he is struggling to find a way to make some money and save his ranch, he is thrust into this new situation of caring for a young child who has lost his family, doesn’t appear to speak English, and needs to be delivered to new family across the country. He has a sense of duty that will not allow him to just abandon this child in need, or send him back to a dangerous, deadly situation in Mexico, but in order to get Miguel to his new home, it’s going to mean a long, perilous journey. Initially Jim and Miguel start off at odds, both grieving in their own ways, and both resenting the other for getting them into this situation. However, over the course of their journey, the two start to bond, learn from one another, and become like family. At the same time, Jim and Miguel are being pursued by this ruthless killer bent on revenge. At first they aren’t even aware of the imminent danger they are in, but it soon becomes evident, and whenever it seems like things have calmed down, they once again find themselves in a desperate and deadly situation, and Jim’s survival and marksmanship skills are called upon.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the film, and it kept my interest throughout. It is a nice mix of character drama and action/chase film. It is not the non-stop adrenaline-filled thrill ride of Taken, but it does have its action-packed moments. There are several shootouts and fight sequences as things get a little too close for comfort with Mauricio and his men tracking Jim down. Mauricio seems like this unstoppable killer, with technology, dirty cops, and a small army on his side. He will kill anyone or anything that gets in his way, without any remorse. Ever since he was a small child, Mauricio was trained to be a soldier for the cartel. Mauricio can be a bit of an over-the-top villain at times, but I thought the film did a good job of making him menacing while also giving him a bit of a human side and letting the viewer understand his motivations. Meanwhile, Jim is old school. He doesn’t have a cellphone and relies on a road atlas for directions, but he has integrity, loyalty and military training of his own. Neeson always does a great job in these type of roles, making his character’s skills and convictions look and feel believable. If I was ever in trouble, I’d want him on my side to help! He and and his young co-star Jacob Perez have great on-screen chemistry, and I really enjoyed watching these two bond over the course of the film. There was also some nice chemistry between Neeson and Katheryn Winnick, though I found that the character of Sarah was a bit underutilized.

Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great. The film opens in the beautiful Arizona countryside, with its bright blue skyline and brown plains. Along their journey, Jim and Miguel find themselves on the highway, and making their way through many small towns or farms. No matter how desolate or rundown their location, the film is always shot beautifully. The picture always remains clean and detailed, both during the dark of night, and while the bright sun is beaming down. The audio track provides clear dialogue while also making excellent use of the surround and stereo channels. Whether it’s the rush of the wind, music playing in a bar, or the sounds of bullets flying in every direction, the soundtrack often gives a very immersive viewing experience, bringing this world to life.

The release comes with both a Blu-ray and DVD disc packed on either side of a standard HD keepcase with a slipcover. The release also includes a sheet with redemption instructions for an HD Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film, plus a bonus Universal All-Access Rewards points code that can be used for a free digital movie or towards other rewards. Both discs contain the same 8-minute behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast and filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:48:08)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

DVD:

• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2022):

• HD digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
• Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 12/31/2025)
  Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other items in the new Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of free digital titles changes every month or so, but at the time of this review, the selections for May 2021 were not yet available.

Extras:

The same featurette can be found on both discs.
• The Making of The Marksman (8:19)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the story, working with Liam Neeson, Kathyrn Winnick’s performance and what she brought to the role, the antagonist Mauricio, young Jacob Perez’s authentic performance, working with the director Robert Lorenz and his shooting style, and more. Includes clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Tai Duncan, Warren Goz & Eric Gold, cinematographer Mark Patten, and stars Juan Pablo Raba (“Mauricio”), Katheryn Winnick (“Sarah”) & Jacob Perez (“Miguel”). It’s a shame they didn’t interview Liam Neeson for this.

Final Thoughts:

The Marksman is a thoughtful and entertaining movie, part of this latest trend of Liam Neeson films that combines the action/skills of his role in Taken with a more character-driven drama. I enjoyed the journey Jim and Miguel go on, and Mauricio’s chase/pursuit was quite exciting and action-packed at times, even if it did get a bit ridiculous and over-the-top in some moments. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but unfortunately just includes one short behind-the-scenes featurette that doesn’t even feature Liam Neeson.