The Marksman (2021)
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A retired Marine must protect a young boy from a ruthless Mexican drug cartel while on the run.
The story
Jim Hanson, a Vietnam War veteran and former Marine Scout Sniper, lives on a ranch along the Arizona-Mexico border. While tending his property, he encounters Rosa and her son Miguel, who are fleeing from the Mexican Mafia. After a violent confrontation where Hanson kills a cartel member and Rosa is fatally wounded, Hanson reluctantly agrees to take Miguel to safety in Chicago. However, the cartel quickly begins a manhunt to retrieve the boy. Hanson must navigate a dangerous journey across the United States, facing corrupt officials and cartel hitmen who are determined to capture Miguel.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jim Hanson, a Vietnam War veteran and former Marine Scout Sniper, lives on a ranch near the Arizona-Mexico border. While tending his ranch, he encounters Rosa and her son Miguel, who are fleeing the Mexican Mafia. Following a shootout where Hanson kills a cartel member and Rosa is fatally wounded, Hanson agrees to take Miguel to Chicago. The journey is plagued by danger: Hanson must evade the cartel, who bribe corrupt officers to track them down. Along the way, they encounter a corrupt cop who tries to turn them in, and Hanson eventually has to fight his way out. During their travels, Hanson's dog, Jackson, is killed by the cartel. After a final showdown on a farm where Mauricio captures Miguel, Hanson manages to regain his weapon and kills Mauricio. Hanson eventually delivers Miguel to his family in Chicago but succumbs to his wounds shortly after.
- Original title
- The Minuteman
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Lorenz
- Writers
- Robert Lorenz · writer; Chris Charles · writer; Danny Kravitz · writer
- Cast and characters
- Liam Neeson · Jim Hanson; Katheryn Winnick · Sarah Pennington; Juan Pablo Raba · Mauricio; Teresa Ruiz · Rosa; Jacob Perez · Miguel; Dylan Kenan · Randall; Luke Rains · Everett; Sean Rosales · Hernando
- Genres
- action; drama
- Themes
- protection; sacrifice; veteran experience; corruption
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; serious; formulaic
- Setting
- Arizona-Mexico border, Oklahoma, and Chicago, USA
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; action thriller; drug cartel; veteran hero
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Neeson's performance but criticized the film as being formulaic. It held a 39% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 44 out of 100 on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 39% · review count: 108; Metacritic · score: 44 · scale: 100 · review count: 22; PostTrak · score: 73%
- Production trivia
- The project was originally titled The Minuteman.; The theatrical release date was moved up by one week from January 22 to January 15, 2021.; The film grossed $3.7 million over the four-day MLK opening weekend, the second Open Road/Neeson title to top the box office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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