Marlowe has the right look from head to toe. From the way it looks and sounds to how it sounds and what it says, it feels like a crime noir. If anything, the movie does a great job of making an interesting world that it should have gone deeper into. There’s the flawed main character, Marlowe, and the main femme fatale, Claire. There’s also Claire’s shady mother and famous actress Dorothy (Lange), as well as some friends and other shady people who help the investigation. Even though the formula was there, there were a few twists, and Marlowe always seemed to find a way out of whatever trouble he got himself into, there were times in the movie when he was both physically and mentally in action. But the closer he got to solving the case and the more the pieces fit together, the less interesting the movie became. Up until that point, the main investigation took a back seat to Marlowe, and because of that, the ending was not as exciting as it could have been.
In the end, Neeson’s performance as Marlowe is the best part of the movie and the only thing that makes it work. Even though it was different from his many other action roles, he worked well as the grizzled and quiet detective, which may be all he can do at this point. Neeson still does a good job of it, though, because his weight and presence seal the deal. He could still handle himself just fine, but it’s also easy to say that he’s just going through the motions. This was Neeson’s movie, and he could still carry it, even though Kruger and Lange and a lot of other actors who come and go did good work as well. Visit o2tvseries to stream more movies.
