Cold Pursuit

Cold Pursuit

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2019
Founder	Hans Petter Moland (director), Frank Baldwin (screenplay)
Products	Action thriller film

Cold Pursuit is a 2019 action thriller film directed by Hans Petter Moland with a screenplay by Frank Baldwin. This international collaboration features performances by Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, and Laura Dern. It serves as a remake of the 2014 Norwegian movie In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten), also helmed by Moland, centering on a snowplow driver (Neeson) who seeks vengeance against a drug syndicate following his son's homicide.

The film was released in the United States on February 8, 2019, through Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment. It earned $76 million globally and garnered mixed reactions from critics.

Plot

Nels Coxman, a snowplow operator in Kehoe, Colorado, is honored as the community's Citizen of the Year. His life takes a tragic turn when his son is killed by an intentional heroin overdose administered by a Denver-based drug cartel. In retaliation, Nels modifies a rifle by shortening its barrel and eliminates three cartel members—Speedo, Limbo, and Santa—disposing of their bodies wrapped in chicken-wire fencing beneath a waterfall to hasten decomposition. His spouse Grace, upset by his detached demeanor, decides to leave him.

Trevor "Viking" Calcote, the cartel's leader, initially suspects White Bull, a member of the Ute, and orders the killing of one of White Bull’s associates—unaware this individual is White Bull’s only son. This act sparks a violent gang conflict after White Bull retaliates by abducting Viking’s son Ryan. Nels’s brother Brock, once a mob enforcer known as Wingman, suggests hiring an assassin known as "The Eskimo" to eliminate Viking for $90,000. The Eskimo tries to extort both sides but is killed by Viking, who mistakenly blames Brock for orchestrating the hit and kidnaps him. Brock, suffering from terminal cancer, takes responsibility to shield Nels.

Attempting to quell the violence, Viking sacrifices one of his own men (Dexter) and sends Dexter's severed head to White Bull as a peace offering; however, White Bull kills the courier instead. Meanwhile, Nels abducts Ryan first to bait Viking into an ambush while caring for the boy amid ongoing hostilities. A school janitor sells Nels' identity to Viking for $10,000 but is later executed.

Nels arranges a private meeting with Viking at his residence; Viking deceives him about his arrival time while covertly searching Nels’ home. Later, Nels brings Ryan to work where he encounters Officers Dash and Gip, introducing Ryan as his nephew. Sensing that Viking’s men are tailing them, Nels departs with Ryan. Mustang, mourning Dexter’s death and romantically involved with him, informs White Bull that Viking was responsible for White Bull’s son's death and reveals Viking’s whereabouts.

Nels secures Ryan in hiding but is captured during an ambush by Viking. As Viking prepares to torture Nels for Ryan's location, White Bull's forces intervene in a firefight that results in most participants being killed. Viking attempts to flee but becomes trapped when Nels impales his vehicle with heavy equipment; White Bull then fatally shoots him. Authorities from Kehoe discover Viking deceased; he dies without identifying Nels. Officer Dash notices Ryan operating a snow blower heading toward town but chooses not to intervene.

Returning to his snowplow duties, Nels is joined by White Bull; despite initial tension between them, they drive off together content that their sons’ deaths have been avenged. Avalanche, one of White Bull’s men who had earlier gone paragliding, accidentally crashes into the snowplow and dies—becoming the final fatality. Throughout the movie, each death is followed by a black screen tribute showing the individual’s name, gang alias, and an associated religious or cultural emblem. After the climactic shootout between Viking’s gang and the Ute faction, these tributes nearly cover the entire screen.

Production

Originally announced in January 2017 under the working title Hard Powder, the project featured actor Liam Neeson, director Hans Petter Moland, producers Michael Shamberg, and StudioCanal.<ref> By March 2017, the cast expanded to include Domenick Lombardozzi, Emmy Rossum, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Laura Dern, William Forsythe, Julia Jones, and John Doman.<ref> The subsequent month saw the addition of Aleks Paunovic to the ensemble.<ref>

Filming commenced in March 2017 across Alberta, Canada. Key shooting sites encompassed Vancouver and Fernie in British Columbia,<ref> as well as Winnipeg and Gimli in Manitoba.<ref> Director Moland had intended to shoot scenes within Banff and Jasper national parks; however, Parks Canada declined permit applications due to environmental concerns and objections regarding the depiction of First Nations gangsters portrayed by Tom Jackson’s character. Jackson endorsed the production by providing a supportive letter.<ref>

Release

In November 2017, Lionsgate secured U.S. distribution rights and renamed the film from Hard Powder to Cold Pursuit. The U.S. theatrical release occurred on February 8, 2019, followed by a United Kingdom release on February 22. The scheduled red carpet premiere on February 5 was canceled after Liam Neeson made controversial remarks about a previous incident involving racial violence.

Lionsgate subsequently issued the film in Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats within the United States on May 14, 2019, packaged as a two-disc Blu-ray and DVD set. Distribution in the U.K. was handled by Studio Canal on June 24, 2019.

Box office

Cold Pursuit earned $32.1 million domestically (United States and Canada) and $44.1 million internationally, accumulating a global total of $76.2 million against its $60 million production budget.

Opening alongside titles such as What Men Want, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and The Prodigy, it was forecasted to generate between $7 million and $10 million from 2,630 theaters during its opening weekend. The film's initial day yielded $3.6 million, including $540,000 from Thursday night previews, culminating in an $11 million debut that placed it third behind The Lego Movie 2 and What Men Want. Its second weekend saw a 45% decline to $6 million, ranking sixth, followed by a third weekend gross of $3.3 million that positioned it eighth.

Critical response

On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating based on numerous critiques, with an average score reflecting generally favorable reviews. The consensus highlights that "Cold Pursuit delivers the action expected from a Liam Neeson thriller—complemented by humor and a refined edge that render this remake notably effective." It also earned recognition as one of the top action films released in 2019. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, it garnered a weighted average of 57 out of 100 from 39 critics, signaling "mixed or average" feedback. Audience surveys conducted by CinemaScore assigned it a "B−" grade, whereas PostTrak reported a three out of five star rating with a 42% "definite recommend" score.

Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly offered a favorable assessment with a "B+" grade: Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times rated it 3.5 stars out of 4:

Honors

Cold Pursuit received a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Action or Adventure Film at the 45th Saturn Awards, ultimately losing to Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Controversy

In February 2019, Liam Neeson was criticized for remarks made during an interview with The Independent. He shared a story from his past, explaining that after discovering a woman close to him had been assaulted by a black man, he sought retribution by roaming neighborhoods armed with a weapon. Neeson expressed regret over his behavior and acknowledged learning that revenge was meaningless.

During an appearance on Good Morning America, Neeson clarified that the incident took place nearly four decades earlier, stressed that his anger was not driven by racial bias, and stated he would have reacted similarly regardless of the assailant’s race. He also mentioned consulting a priest for guidance and pointed out ongoing challenges related to racism and prejudice in both the United States and Northern Ireland. As a result of the backlash, the film’s red carpet premiere was canceled.