If there's one guy that's known for being an onscreen badass, it's Liam Neeson. The 66 year-old actor is synonymous with movies where he kicks ass and takes names, including high profile projects like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins, and the Taken franchise. The beloved actor is at it again with Hans Petter Moland's Cold Pursuit, playing a snowplow driver with a penchant for revenge.
I recently had the privilege to speak with Liam Neeson about Cold Pursuit, and his character Nels Coxman. I asked if he wanted more time behind the wheel of Nels' massive snowplow to kill his enemies, but Neeson actually had the opposite feeling. As he told me,
I was happy with it being used in that specific way. Because a poster doesn’t quite give you the scale of this thing. It’s like a monster. And the controls are delicate-- you need a feather touch to operate that thing. One could have gone overboard with this type of machine. But we wanted to savor it, just for certain period of the movie, not overdo it.
Throughout the course of Cold Pursuit, audiences get to watch Liam Neeson dispatch his enemies in a variety of grisly and sometimes hilarious manners. Rather than simply getting behind his giant rig and making the movie one long car chase, director Hans Petter Moland used that signature vehicle sparingly. And that's exactly how Liam Neeson liked it.
I also got the chance to speak with Hans Petter Moland himself about Cold Pursuit, which is actually an American adaptation of his Norwegian movie In Order of Disappearance. In our conversation, he spoke to balancing the use of the snowplow, and enjoying using a variety of other tools to bring Nels' revenge to life on the silver screen. He said,
They’re really dangerous tools, but to Liam’s character it’s quite ordinary. And to activate it at the right moment, so you don’t overuse it, was kind of the idea. And also he has a lot of machines. So one is good at one thing, and one is good at something else. And allow the audience to get used to them being somewhat benign, if you will. And then suddenly activate them as the dangerous tools they are.
Cold Pursuit is clocking in at 118 minutes, so Hans Petter Moland clearly wanted to make sure it wasn't a repetitive experience. Furthermore, the movie shows how everyday tools can become weapons, especially in the hands of someone with nothing to lose.
You can check out my conversation with Liam Neeson and Hans Petter Moland below.
Clearly Liam Neeson and Hans Petter Moland have thought this process out, and are eager for moviegoers to finally get the chance to watch the snowy destruction for themselves.
Cold Pursuit arrives in theaters on February 8th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
