Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland brings a pitch black sense of humour to Cold Pursuit. This, the Hollywood version of his earlier film, Kraftidioten (In Order of Disappearance) mixes equal parts bloody gore and dark laughs.
Liam Neeson (a snow ploughman this time) continues his on-screen proclivity to lose or misplace family members and when his only son is killed, he goes on a murderous rampage of revenge. This premise is used as a set up for some very sick laughs.
At first the ultra violence is a bit off-putting but you soon throw off those limitations and laugh at all the wrong moments. There are some quite clever running gags and visual jokes that illicit consistent laughs.
The plot is slight with this murder porn comedy but little is needed to stitch together its moving parts. It’s all been done before but seldom with such a gleeful disregard for convention. The film provides a surprisingly high level of entertainment, guilty pleasure or not.
Rob Hudson
www.coldpursuitmovie.com.au
