Cold Pursuit Review: 7 Ups & 1 Down

Ups...

7. The Darkly Hilarious Tone

This film has the most bizarre, unpredictable tone of any movie released in recent memory, shifting from brutal violence to comedy and back again at a moment's notice, yet not in a way that upsets the film's goals or feels in any way accidental.

Cold Pursuit constantly keep the viewer on their toes, unsure if they're about to laugh at a killer gag or cringe at some wanton brutality, and director Hans Petter Moland - who also helmed the original movie - does a wonderful job walking an extremely delicate balance between over-reaching in either direction.

There will certainly be moments where you'll be unsure if you're supposed to laugh, but this feels very much by design, not unlike the morbidly funny tone you'd expect from a Martin McDonagh film.

It won't be to all tastes, for sure, but to the studio's credit, they made the film's mood and style pretty clear from the trailer, and didn't just cynically advertise the film as yet another down-the-line Neeson action vehicle.