when I saw Liam Neeson was doing another action movie, I already knew what I was getting myself into...
A man gets accused of something he didn't do... The police come after him, He refuses to surrender, gets behind the wheel of a powerful car and suddenly the whole country is watching him run from the law...
Yep... It's Liam Neeson again but honestly, I'm not complaining...
The Mongoose follows Ryan “Fang” Flanagan, a highly decorated war veteran who finds himself accused of a murder he insists he didn't commit.... Instead of sitting around waiting for the police to figure things out, Fang decides to run.
And when I say run, I mean RUN...
We're talking about a cross-country chase involving police, helicopters, former military buddies and a whole lot of attention from the public...
The interesting thing is that Fang isn't just some random criminal trying to escape.
He's a war hero...People know him, People believe in him and as the chase continues, ordinary people begin following his story and rooting for him to escape...
That part actually was really interesting to me because now the police aren't just chasing one man, They're chasing a man who has become a public symbol and that can make things very complicated...
Liam Neeson is obviously comfortable in this kind of role.. We've seen him play the angry, determined, slightly terrifying older man more times than I can count but somehow, I still enjoyed it...
There's something about watching Liam Neeson get behind the wheel and say, “I'm not going down without a fight.” and you already know somebody is about to have a very bad day...
What I particularly like about the setup is the military background... Fang isn't running because he's a professional criminal, He's running because he believes the system has failed him and he's not completely alone.... Some of his former Special Forces brothers-in-arms decide to help him...
Imagine the police chasing one experienced soldier and suddenly discovering that his old military friends are joining the escape... Good luck with that...
Tara, Fang's ex-wife, who wants him to surrender, while Ving Rhames and Michael Chiklis are also part of the cast...
Michael Chiklis plays Major Walter Pope, the officer tasked with going after Fang... So you've got two sides with experienced people on them and the movie eventually turn into one big game of cat and mouse..
The idea that the entire country is watching this chase and actually cheering for Fang gives the story a different flavour... It also creates some funny possibility.. Imagine the police saying “Stop this man!”.. and half the country replying... “Leave Fang alone!”.
The action was the biggest attraction... Cars, High-speed chases, Police pursuit, Military tactics, Helicopters, Roadblocks... and Liam Neeson was the center of it all..
The biggest issue with this movie for me is the emotional side of things...
Fang isn't just fighting to escape, He's fighting to clear his name... He's also dealing with his past, his former military brothers and his relationship with Tara...
Rating: 75/100
