Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

A Walk Among the Tombstones

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity.

Reviewed by: Tober Corrigan
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Action Crime Mystery
Length: 1 hr. 53 min.
Year of Release: 2014
USA Release: September 19, 2014 (wide—2,500+ theaters)
DVD: January 13, 2015
Copyright, Universal Pictures click photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Universal Pictures

organized crime

drug addiction and alcoholism

illegal drug trade

murder

kidnapping

depravity of mankind

justice

justice of God

Featuring Liam NeesonMatt Scudder
Dan Stevens … Kenny Kristo
Maurice Compte … Danny Ortiz
Patrick McDade … Bar Owner
Luciano Acuna Jr. … Dominican Banger #1
Hans Marrero … Dominican Banger #2
Laura Birn … Leila Alvarez
David Harbour … Ray
Adam David Thompson … Albert
Kim Rosen … Waitress—Jenny
Eric Nelsen … Howie
See all »
Director Scott Frank — “Minority Report,” “The Wolverine,” “Marley and Me” (2008)
Producer 1984 Private Defense Contractors
Cross Creek Pictures
See all »
Distributor Distributor: Universal Pictures. Trademark logo.Universal Pictures

deep spiritual darkness and wickedness, demon-influenced sadism and horrific torture of women

Liam Neeson plays Matthew Scudder (based on the popular book series by Lawrence Block), an unlicensed private investigator looking for two men with a history of violence to spouses of men with big wallets and significant connections to drug trades. For some, this premise alone might be worth admission. For others, it would sound all too similar to the recent barrage of movies featuring Neeson kicking butt and taking names. I found myself somewhere in the middle, hovering between intrigue and skepticism. Despite mixed feelings, I left convinced that there is something in this movie for all three camps.

When one considers all of the intricately-plotted crime-investigation shows on network television and thematically-rich HBO shows like “True Detective,” “A Walk Among the Tombstones” can’t help but feel a little late to the party. But the strength of the film is in its acknowledgment of this. Instead of being any kind of “game-changer,” the movie takes solace in being nothing more than a competent entry in the genre. This is mostly achieved through the film’s checks and balances.

It starts as a whodunit before turning into a tense thriller in the third act. It blends elements of a cold-case procedural with warmth and occasional humor, mostly provided through Scudder’s unlikely young sidekick TJ (Brian “Astro” Bradley of “Earth to Echo”). It gives the audience hints of Scudder’s backstory without giving away everything.

Though the film’s more formal elements (cinematography, writing, editing, soundtrack, etc.) never shock, surprise, or impress, they do avoid many of the flagrant errors found in recent mystery-thrillers coming out of Hollywood (over-the-top villains, ridiculous twists, and never-ending third acts). The experience of watching the film never feels extraordinary because it isn’t trying to be. It’s just down-to-earth, nitty-gritty detective fiction.

The true disappointment, however, does comes from seeing the potential this film had to be more than merely passable, something worth talking about with friends in the car afterward. Like the mass-market genre from which it is based, it is only entertaining for as long as it lasts on the screen.

And, yes, there is Liam Neeson kicking butt and taking names. IDo not be fooled; there are objectionable elements. F-bombs, among other profanities, scatter themselves pretty evenly across the film’s running time. There are split-second moments of female nudity, though never in an erotic context. Though the violence is mostly restrained throughout, the climax turns bloody and stays bloody.

Most of the characters here are immoral and lost, as usually reflected in their choice of illegal vocations. Like Hitchcock, the moments that prove the most harrowing are the implied ones. We hear snippets of a tape recording of a torture scene. There are other implications of rape and torture, sometimes only audibly understood. This movie leaves plenty of room for the imagination, and that may unnerve viewers who were not planning on a thriller that left its greatest tension under the surface.

“…Tombstones” lacks significant moral takeaways. The ending suggests justice was done and that Scudder made up for past sins in the only way he could, with a gun. Perhaps the best question a Christian could ask from this movie is why a secular world finds redemption in justice. How is justice pursued in the Bible? Does it look anything like it is depicted here? This movie says a lot about what it expects the audience to find just or right. What would the Bible say about these things?

Violence: Heavy to extreme / Profanity: Heavy to extreme—“Oh Chr*st” (1), “Oh G*d” (2), “God” (1), “hell” (1), “damn” (1), f-words (30+), s-words (20), *ss (7), *ss-hole (1), and various sexual slang / Sex/Nudity: Moderate to heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Negative
Negative—This movie was extremely disturbing and had lots of violence against women. Women were being tortured and killed. I really really wish I had never seen it. Please protect your mind. I wish I could undo seeing it. Aside from this, it is a standard plot with nothing that special: the good guy has to find where the bad guys are and kill them. The good guy is a washed up cop (nice cliché). The bad guys are sadists. The victims are related to drug dealers (is this supposed to be a morality lesson? It’s dumb!).

The only interesting thing cinematographically was how they recited the 12 steps from AA towards the end.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Michael, age 45 (Canada)
Negative—…sadistic, demonically influenced maniacs chopping their brutally tortured murdered victims into pieces… This movie was like watching a horror film! The traumatizing rape scene where one of the demented killers makes his terrified, helpless victim choose which one of her breasts he would not chop off deeply affected me… The ending was something out of a house of chopping horrors. STAY AWAY from this one! I needed prayer after watching this filth. I deeply regret watching this film. And the directing and acting was awful as well. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
Dawn, age 40 (USA)

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