Cold Pursuit Review: 7 Ups & 1 Down

4. Tom Bateman Steals The Show

The critical and audience response to Tom Bateman's performance as the villainous kingpin Viking has been pretty mixed, but it's honestly tough to see why.

The Brit actor steals almost every scene's he in, making hammy glory out of the character's sharply-written eccentricities, namely his obsession with his young son being fed a diet of health foods in order to guarantee his lifespan.

Bateman may have the look of a fairly forgettable action movie antagonist, but he does a great job making Viking both memorably intense and downright hilarious, yet doing each without upsetting or disrupting the other.

Needless to say, Viking is a real piece of work, and the film fleshes him out with a refreshing amount of depth compared to most action movie antagonists.

It's hardly a star-maker for Bateman, but proof that he can make gold out of some tonally tricky material.