If you like a bit of dark humour with your reliable retaliation then COLD PURSUIT will clear the ice in your driveway.  Set in freezing snow country where drug dealers flourish and rule, the film is picturesque and architecturally interesting and a splash of red on a pristine snowbank gives an uplift of colour to proceedings.  Add in a gravel voiced man of few words, many of them unintelligible, on a mission for revenge endowed with some very big machinery and you have a tale to ice a choc top for.

Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is the snowplow driver in Kehoe, Rocky Mountains.  He seems like a man content when we first meet him clearing the roads in blisteringly white storm and then returning to a warm toned domestic life … which makes a lovely picture as his wife (Laura Dern) helps him with cufflinks and collar.  When his only son is killed by order of a local drug lord, Viking, (Tom Bateman) Nels’ response is very Neesonish.  He will set out to kill the whole cartel, initially one at a time, then later in orchestrated and outsourced groups.

And some spectacular killing there is! The first one is so sudden, unexpected and graphic that one really wants a backstory about how Nels managed to acquire this very particular set of skills.  The bodies pile up in logical succession on Nels’ way to get to Viking and are neatly memorialised by nicely interpolated slides, complete with cross or Star of David as appropriate.  And with deliciously ironic music to match.

Liam Neeson is all pared down rage in the role and his imperturbability as his reprisals become more bizarre is wickedly darkly comic. As Viking, Bateman is spit and polish and narry a hair out of place.  He dotes on his own son to the point of yummy mummy quinoa diet controlling and he has a very usual choice of literary motivation for the young fella.  Gung ho, gum chewing new Kehoe police officer is Emmy Rossum obviously having a whale of a time and there are assorted other villains to make up the body count. Mostly introduced and terminated without notice with quite a few trek-y reds.

The setting is gorgeous and the snow has an Inuit range of expression, grubby and tyre mucked to cloudlike and blinding.  The homes are to die for and the acerbity of a Balinese oasis complete with living room fire has a witty richness.  There’s many little ludicrous curiosities inside the lurid bloodletting to give the film an extra fillup of interest.  Look for the stakeout in high viz and the corpse covered in a Redskins football jersey. Not to mention the very peculiar taxidermatalogical aspect.  Plus some highly entertaining shots to make sure we don’t miss how powerful these intimidating snow-taming vehicles are.  Get one of those up to speed with stony faced Nels behind the windscreen wipers and the bad guys don’t stand a chance.

COLD PURSUIT is a slow manned breakneck avenge of film with a momentum of gory despatches and enough pinkish business to satisfy any black ice chaser.

COLD PURSUIT opens in Australian cinemas on Feb 7. Find out more at the official site, Facebook or watch the trailer here.