THE FILM:

Liam Neeson is the guy to call when stuff needs doing. He again plays a detective-type; actually a retired NYPD officer working as an unlicensed private investigator. The character is from Lawrence Block's novel, and there are seventeen others about his Matthew Scudder in print. Scott Frank (The Lookout) directs from his own screenplay, which draws from his work on Get Shorty and Out of Sight. A Walk Among the Tombstones is competently shot and acted, but the film's convoluted delivery and lack of tension undercut its impact. Neeson's particular set of skills involves more brains than brawn here, but the film is bluntly formulaic.

Set in 1999, A Walk Among the Tombstones features much Y2k imagery and paranoia. The setting is probably necessary, and some of the conflict hinges on problems that might be handled different if everyone had an iPhone and GPS tracking in their cars. Drug dealer Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) hires Scudder to track down the men who tortured and killed his wife after he refused to pay her entire $5-million ransom. Scudder uncovers the similarly brutal murders of other drug-lord maidens and begins tracking the killer across the five boroughs. Neeson rolls forward, as dependably as ever, interrogating witnesses, tracing leads and throwing a punch or two, but I spotted more muscle memory than genuine interest.

Gone is Scudder's working-girl love interest from the novel, and the film has only a few choice scenes of Scudder's involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous. Scudder's streetwise, urban-stereotype little buddy TJ (Brian "Astro" Bradley) helps him with era-appropriate technology, but the film wisely excises the novel's extended venture into hacker-ease. There are plenty of tenuous revelations that work better on the page, and Scudder may as well buy that lottery ticket after proving such a lucky duck. Chance encounters with associates of the killer push the investigation forward, and the film hints at a dark, sickly stylish sicko of the Buffalo Bill variety that it never delivers.

Frank pulls from crime thrillers both recent and past, and very obviously uses dubious narration, stylistic editing, slow-motion footage and camera tricks to spice up the bargain-bin story. This is not a bad movie; it is just not particularly memorable. Both the film and its star go through the motions respectably, but none of the leering violence or intimate pulp grips the viewer. Instead, one may begin observing the New York City skyline and alleyways. A Walk Among the Tombstones feels authentically New York, and does provide a too-brief look at the rift between successful criminals and those hustling for pennies on the street corner. That is the more interesting story no one steps up to tell.

THE BLU-RAY:

PICTURE:

Universal provides an excellent 2.40:1/1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. The film at first glance looks dull and gloomy, but look closer and you will see fantastic shadow detail, natural skin tones, and understated but perfectly saturated colors. Fine-object detail is impressive, and texture is abundant on the buildings and fabrics of New York. I noticed no issues with aliasing or compression artifacts.

SOUND:

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix suits the material, and provides plenty of ambient surround action. Dialogue is clear and balanced appropriately with effects elements and the score. The subwoofer provides deep-bass impact in a number of scenes, and the few action bits rustle up some powerful effects pans. A 5.1 Spanish DTS track is included, as are English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

PACKAGING AND EXTRAS:

This two-disc "combo pack" includes the Blu-ray, a DVD copy and codes to redeem both iTunes and UltraViolet digital copies. The discs are packed in a standard Blu-ray case, which is wrapped in a foil slipcover. You get two featurettes: A Look Behind the Tombstones (12:07/HD), an EPK-style making-of, and Matt Scudder: Private Eye (6:26/HD), which dives into Neeson's character and features discussion by Frank and Block.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

A middle-of-the-road detective film from Scott Frank and Liam Neeson, A Walk Among the Tombstones is neither a particularly terrible nor terribly memorable adaptation of Lawrence's Block novel. The stylish pulp cannot mask the clunky narrative, and Neeson plows forward in overdrive. Rent It.

William lives in Burlington, North Carolina, and looks forward to a Friday-afternoon matinee.