I think it’s true that if you’ve seen one mob movie you’ve seen them all. In other words, Run All Night is extremely predictable and unimpressive. Following the footsteps of some of its predecessors, this Jaume Collet-Serra film achieves a high level of thrill and violence while tying in motifs like family and friendship. It centers around an aging mob hit-man named Jimmy Conlon who – you guessed it – runs all night to protect his estranged son, Michael, from being killed by the Brooklyn mob. Jimmy also tries to protect his son from adopting his violent lifestyle; even stepping in when Michael is about to shoot corrupt cops and a ruthless hit-man. As touching as this all sounds, keep in mind that the father-son dynamic is not original. It is also evident in films like Road to Perdition, Mafioso: The Father, the Son, and The Godfather.
It would have been refreshing to see a father-daughter or mother-daughter dynamic. That’s right, I don’t think it’s too ridiculous to assume that some gangsters have daughters, or that some mob bosses are female. However, like many of its predecessors, Run All Night makes it seem as though women are only good at taking care of children and being the butt of obnoxious sex jokes.
Out of dozens of characters, I only remember seeing a few females on-screen. I remember seeing Michael’s wife and young daughters, but it’s nearly impossible to analyze their characters due to their very limited screen time and insignificant lines. I also remember one scene in which Jimmy asks another gangster’s wife to sit on his lap. After the invitation is declined, her character is never seen again.
While I’m glad that Run All Night sets itself apart from some of its predecessors by not over-sexualizing female characters, I don’t understand why female characters have to be almost entirely absent in order to accomplish this. It’s as if the filmmakers thought a heavier female presence would distract the audience from the main premise: men battling it out to determine who will be the ultimate patriarch.
As expected, the action scenes are over-exaggerated. I can watch shoot outs, cars flipping over, and buildings burning down without becoming skeptical, but Run All Night also expects me to believe that one middle-aged man can wipe out a heavily-armed gang within minutes and outrun a swarm of police officers? Sorry, but my sense of realism is telling me that not even the most experienced gangster could pull that off.
Despite Jimmy’s remarkable talent, he dies of a gunshot wound, conveniently right before the police arrive. This scene is supposed to be heartfelt. After all, Jimmy reconnects with his estranged family, and successfully saves his son from becoming a criminal. Personally, I’m a bit sick of endings in which the main character dies. I would be more impressed if Jimmy rotted in jail, since movie endings of gangsters actually suffering for their crimes are rarely seen.