Known in recent years for a “very particular set of skills” he uses to kill bad guys in action movies like Non-Stop, Cold Pursuit and the Taken franchise, actor Liam Neeson (Honest Thief) is always up for a tough challenge.
In his upcoming film The Marksman, the Oscar nominee stars as Hanson, a rancher and ex-Marine sharpshooter living in Arizona on the U.S. / Mexico border, who is entrusted to protect Miguel (Jacob Perez), an 11-year-old Mexican boy, after members of a drug cartel kill his mother.
Hanson promises Miguel’s mom that he will take him to her family in Chicago, but with a group of Mexican assassins in pursuit, led by the heartless Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba), Hanson and Miguel are going to have a long road ahead of them if they want to make it to the Windy City alive.
Directed by Robert Lorenz (Trouble with the Curve), The Marksman is one of those Hollywood productions that makes Latinx people who care about the way Latinx are depicted in movies very nervous. Will Mauricio be just another stereotypical Mexican villain, or will there be some depth to his character? Movies like this can go very badly for everyone involved like with The Tax Collector and Peppermint. Can Lorenz and his team avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up countless productions before?
“This kid didn’t bring any of this on himself,” Neeson’s Hanson says in the trailer. “He just needs someone to give him a chance.”
Chances are, if the cartel members in The Marksmen find themselves in the crosshairs of Neeson’s rifle, their fate is already sealed.
The Marksman hits theaters nationwide Jan. 22, 2021.