A Walk Among the Tombstones 2014

Wesley Morris, Grantland: You expect a thriller from a movie like this, but the further into the case Scudder trudges, the more soundly and unexpectedly Tombstones is able to hit the sweet spot of any good suspense film: the pit of your stomach. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: They don't make 'em like "A Walk Among the Tombstones" any more. Mainly because everyone got bored with 'em and stopped watching 'em. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: A not-very-interesting revenge tale that takes a not-at-all-welcome turn into grisly, ugly horror. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: I found myself wishing this "Walk" would end far sooner than it did - but that we could follow Leeson's Scudder into another story. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: This ghost of a movie star is never more at home than when walking among the tombstones. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: Too formally well crafted to be dismissed, but too straightforward and uncurious to be particularly exciting or insightful ... Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: None of the people or places the imposing, gravelly-voiced hero visits would seem out of place in a middling episode of Law & Order: SVU. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Scott Frank's atmospheric thriller is a step up from Neeson's usual shoot-'em-ups. Not a giant leap, but a step up nonetheless. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: Teaming a tarnished hero with violated bad guys is a compelling idea, and ought to make for more sparks than we get here. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: As usual, Neeson gives a more thoughtful performance than the material deserves. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: As a throwback to a type of nasty, ugly crime film of yesteryear, A Walk Among the Tombstones cleans up. Read more

Kate Erbland, Film.com: Frank's film is much more of a noir outing than a straight action feature, and Neeson slips right into the tone and feel of the hard-boiled detective offering. Read more

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: Notable for its dark atmospherics and strong performance by Liam Neeson in the latest example of his unlikely late career transformation into an action hero. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is the creepiest film I've seen in quite some time, and that's not meant as a compliment. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "A Walk Among the Tombstones" feels like one of its villains: spiteful, sadistic and amoral. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Frank ... keeps things tense enough that we may not have time to notice one or two failings in the script. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: With the combo of Neeson's natural solemnity and his action chops, "Tombstones" treads compellingly amongst lesser thrillers. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Nasty, brutal and unforgiving, "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is one of those rare contemporary cinematic offerings: intelligent pulp. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: Frank mostly overdoses on portentousness as he roots his solid hero in a city that fears coming to pieces. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It has the steady pace of a police procedural, with a flawed but noble hero and the colorful lowlifes that populate any hard-boiled mystery scribe's world. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: If this is your kind of movie, it's hard to find one better made. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: This is a stylish and smart thriller. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Neeson has so much audience good will at this point that he (almost) can do no wrong. He's very good as Scudder, and with luck (and good box office), this could be the start of a series. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills, but choosing worthwhile projects is no longer one of them. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Overplotted and underexplained ... Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: A solid entry into the film noir genre. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: As nauseating as the film's inventive sadisms can be, Frank succeeds far more in the details than in the larger picture that tries to relate this world to ours. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Think 'Taken' meets 'Taggart', only not as much fun. Read more

Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun: While we're waiting for the release of Taken 3, the man who was Oskar Schindler is keeping us in an action hero frame of mind with the moody-but-essentially-empty A Walk Among the Tombstones. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Audiences ... will be drawn to a more soulful Neeson as a downtrodden gumshoe with a strong sense of decency and dark streak of humor. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: An uncommonly well-made thriller. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's clear from the sunless palette and the measured, one-thing-after-another pacing that Frank loves Block's work, and that goes a long way. The performances go a long way, too. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: With luck, Matt Scudder will return - with more of the same patter, and much less splatter. Read more