Unlicensed private investigator/ former cop Matthew Scudder (Liam Nesson) is hired by a drug dealer (Dan Stevens) to find the men who abducted and killed his wife.   Scudder finds the killers have done this before and will do it again as he continues to battle with his own past demons as an alcoholic and former NYPD cop.

 

A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES is a classic noir thriller as Nesson plays Scudder in a way that will be remembered among the performances of Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe.   It is a gritty detective thriller set against the time of 1999 New York City (and I do chuckle when I see all of the Y2K fears seen in the background).   Scudder is the detective who does investigating the old fashioned way where he looks through old microfiche while his homeless teenage protégé TJ is used to using the internet to search the newspapers.  He schools TJ in the ways of the world while watching out for him like the son Scudder never had.   I hope I see Nesson back as Scudder soon since there are another fifteen novels (by Lawrence Block) to chose from and A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES is loosely adapted from the tenth novel of the same name.  If you’re expecting another TAKEN, this movie will surprise you with a role where a detective is using a different set of skills (to detect and find people) and not another certain type of skills (which can kill you).   This movie is the type of movie you used to see more often in other decades like the 1940s and 1970s and 1980s.   Also it is nice to see Liam Nesson being a working class hero instead of the action star roles that have given a second life to his acting career during the last few years.   Go buy or rent A WALK BEOFRE THE TOMBSTONES so Universal Pictures clearly hears that we want another Matthew Scudder movie starring Liam Nesson.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

A LOOK BEHIND THE TOMBSTONES- a behind-the-scenes promotional featurette that has interviews with the cast, screenwriter/ director Scott Frank, and the producers.  They remark they couldn’t imagine anyone else other than Liam nesson playing Matthew Scudder.

MATT SCUDDER: PRIVATE EYE (Blu-ray only)- Lawrence Block (author of the Matthew Scudder novels), Liam Nesson, Scott Frank, and the producers talk about the character of Matthew Scudder and the moral ambiguity of the characters in Matt’s world of a private detective (and how long it took for the movie to be made and why they chose the novel of the same name to be the first movie).

 

Previews that play before the main menu includes SCORPION KING 4, DRAGONHEART 3, THE GUEST, THA MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2, and DOMINION season 1.

 

Also included in this combo pack is the movie in standard definition on DVD and a code to download and stream a digital HD Ultraviolet copy of the movie.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:   A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES is one of the best movies to star Liam Nesson and this gritty P.I. tale deserves to be watched.  I hope they get a chance to adapt another Matthew Scudder novel because I want to see Liam play this character again.

 

This review is ©1-14-2015 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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