Julia Jones

The Weight (2026): A Middle of the Road Quest for Gold

Posted on by Jack Drees

“The Weight” is directed by Padraic McKinley (Fightworld, The Good Lord Bird) and stars Ethan Hawke (First Reformed, Moon Knight), Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Unhinged), Julia Jones (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Dexter: New Blood), Austin Amelio (Everybody Wants Some!!, The Walking Dead), Avi Nash (Silo, The Walking Dead), Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen (The Rain, 1899), George Burgess (Beast, Land of Bad), Cameron Brady (Sapphire, Quantum Quest), Avy Berry (Hollyoaks, A Quiet Place: Day One), Alec Newman (Frank Herbert’s Dune, Winne-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2), and Sam Hazeldine (Resurrection, The Innocents). This film is set during the Great Depression and follows a veteran who is hired to help smuggle a fortune in gold through the wilderness.

Before we begin my review of “The Weight,” I would like to shout out a good friend of mine, some of you from the Massachusetts-New Hampshire area would know his name, Brandon Gunnoe, an anchor at WHDH, also known as 7 News. I have the pleasure of working with Gunnoe several days a week. He is a fun person to talk to. The reason why I am shouting him out is because he twice suggested that I should watch “The Weight.” I heard about “The Weight” before he recommended it to me, but his recommendation encouraged me to check out the trailer, which I thought was decent. It promised a tense journey through the wilderness and made the movie look like fun, even with a somewhat serious tone. As I said before, I am proud to call Gunnoe a good friend. But that friendship was fun while it lasted. “The Weight” could have been better…

I kid of course, Gunnoe is still my friend. Though it does not change “The Weight” being a bit of a bore. The film has an intriguing hook to it. It stars Ethan Hawke as Samuel Murphy, an incarcerated man who is tasked with smuggling gold during the Great Depression. The film is also a bit more than that. While the two are not together the entire time, the film is very much a father-daughter story. I thought that aspect of the film was handled very well. Plus, Avy Berry does a great job portraying the daughter character, Penny. She is adorable. The moments the two spend together are joy-filled and smile-inducing.

For the most part, “The Weight” is quite slow. I do not mind a slow film. Slow does not necessarily mean bad. Though when it comes to “The Weight,” I wound up feeling, well, its weight. It is almost unfair of me to say this because “The Weight” does a decent job at providing tension in each scene. This is a man versus nature tale and most of the film’s obstacles have something to do with the elements. Everyone is outside, trying to make it from point A to point B. Whether the characters are trying to cross a bridge or find their way through a river, the film does a fantastic job at making me think about possibly biting my nails.

That said, while the film does a decent job at putting its characters in eerie situations, I wish I cared more about the cast. While I have seen one or two other people in the cast play roles in other projects, Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe have the most star power. How do they do in this film? Fine. I am not complaining about their performances. This is far from Crowe’s worst outing, and it most certainly is not his best. If you like listening to a rugged man call Ethan Hawke “son” sometimes, then this is the movie for you. Hawke plays the most captivating character by far, which is good partially because he is the lead. The film is kind of on his shoulders. That said, the movie does not deliver any standout scenes from its cast that I could see being used down the line as part of a “for your consideration” montage. Hawke and Crowe are competent. Surprise surprise. But these are far from their greatest roles.

I have nothing against the actors who make up the film’s supporting cast. They all play their parts to the best of their abilities. That said, a lot of them utter dialogue that could perhaps best be described as cookie-cutter or overly stereotypical to their personalities. The characters do not feel that complicated or authentic. It feels like there is something missing to them as people. I cannot really put my finger on it. But there is something about these characters that makes them come off as somewhat thin. If anything, they come off as characters from a “Team Fortress” game, almost as if it were easier to refer to them by what they do rather than by their actual name. I get that the movie is not about these characters, but I think the movie would have benefited if they had more depth to said characters.

Although what this movie lacks in substance, it makes up for in style. On the surface, I was impressed with the film’s overall look. The framing and cinematography are sometimes gorgeous. It is not my favorite of the year. In fact, to be frank, I cannot really name a single thing from this movie that I would describe as my “favorite of the year,” but I was nevertheless impressed with Matteo Cocco’s variety of shots as well as their specific timing. The film starts and ends in a similar manner, which allowed for a kind of poetry with the framing as well as Padraic McKinley and Matthew Woolley’s editing. The color grading also pops in its own way. It reminded me a bit of “Train Dreams.” While definitely somewhat modern-looking, “The Weight” had a slight pinch that made the film feel like a throwback. The grass in almost every frame looked immaculate. The contrast most certainly stands out. The film was shot on location in Germany, and those particular locations did not disappoint.

The film has a vibe that, again, reminds me of “Train Dreams” with more action. But unlike “Train Dreams,” “The Weight” sometimes comes off as conventional and lacking in an oomph. On a paper, it sounds like a human story, but the execution of this film feels somewhat wooden and boring. The film comes close to sucking me into its atmosphere, but almost never achieves such immersion. Is “The Weight” awful? No. But it isn’t great either.

In the end, “The Weight” is dull and rather forgettable. It has a couple big stars, but if you want to watch Ethan Hawke or Russell Crowe, there are other projects I would recommend before this one. This is a good-looking film that would probably make for a halfway decent tech demo. It even looks better than some of the big studio franchise titles that came out earlier this year, like “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Supergirl.” But looks are not everything, this film tends to lack personality, which is arguably more important. So, if Brandon Gunnoe at 7 News reads this, thank you for the recommendation. Sorry we did not see eye to eye. We’re still friends. I am going to give “The Weight” a 5/10.

As of this posting, “The Weight” is neither available at home or in theaters.

Thanks for reading this review! If you enjoyed this written review, why not check out one I did on video? Last week I posted my latest episode of “Movie Requests,” featuring special guest Joe Gatto. He requested I should watch “Gringo,” a 2018 dark comedy! What did I think of it? Click the video above to find out! If you enjoy the video, do yourself and I a favor by subscribing to my YouTube channel so you can see more episodes as they drop!

My next review is going to be for “Digger!” Stay tuned! Also coming soon, I will be sharing my thoughts on “Other Mommy,” “The Social Reckoning,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Whalefall!” If you want to see these reviews and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “The Weight?” What did you think about it? Or, what is a film that someone has begged you to watch that you disliked? Are you still friends with that person? Answer in the comments at your own risk! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!

Cold Pursuit (2019): A Slow Brrrrr

Posted on by Jack Drees

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“Cold Pursuit” is directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance, Aberdeen) and stars Liam Neeson (Taken, Non-Stop), Tom Bateman (Murder on the Orient Express, Snatched), Tom Jackson (The Diviners, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Emmy Rossum (Shameless, The Phantom of the Opera), Domenick Lombardozzi (Breakout Kings, The Wire), Julia Jones (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Westworld), John Doman (Borgia, ER), and Laura Dern (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jurassic Park). This film is about a guy named Nels Coxman as he tries to seek revenge against people who ended up drugging his son.

I mentioned at the top that “Cold Pursuit” is directed by the same guy who directed “In Order of Disappearance.” I have not seen “In Order of Disappearance,” but around the time I watched this film, I found this information out. And knowing things about this film, I managed to find out that “Cold Pursuit” is actually a remake of “In Order of Disappearance,” which was made primarily for a Norwegian audience. “Cold Pursuit,” as far as I can tell, was most certainly intended for an American audience. In fact, without giving much away, there’s a cool thing that happens when the movie reaches the end credits, and if you haven’t seen “In Order of Disappearance,” you’ll see further proof of this being a redo of that film. Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who also has not seen “In Order of Disappearance.”

I did some Internet searching on the original film and found out that it currently has over a 7 on IMDb, which is pretty decent for a film. Most of the user scores are above average range, with many of them being 7/10. For “Cold Pursuit,” it’s currently higher than a 6. Most of the user scores are also 6, slightly edging out over the 7 range. While a 6 is still a win for a movie on some days, there are times when it could equal nothing but trouble. And I can see why this movie is worse than its original counterpart, because while there are some cool quirky elements throughout the film, the movie is just slow at times.

When I saw the opening scene for “Cold Pursuit,” where snow is being shoved around by a bulldozer, it gave me a sense that s*it was about to get real. Unfortunately, everything that went down in “Cold Pursuit” (except for one thing), was not enough to fulfill my appetite. What’s the one thing that did fulfill my appetite however? Well, I hate to be cruel, but the deaths were infinitely creative. And I am not referring to how people died, but every time someone would die, something would come up and it does that for the whole movie. I thought it was a neat gimmick at times. Granted, and I am not sure if this dives into spoiler territory, but I’ll say it anyway, the deaths could SOMETIMES be slightly improved if you actually get a better glimpse at people dying. Just me. I’m not asking for a complete bloodbath, but this movie is rated R. Let us see some more stuff on screen sometimes.

Speaking of stuff we see on screen, let’s talk about Liam Neeson. I mean, this movie is basically Liam Neeson doing Liam Neeson things. His mannerisms are present and he definitely takes no names whatsoever. And while for me, this may be a hindrance regarding some actors like Melissa McCarthy, Liam Neeson never really gets tiring. One thing that may make him interesting is that the dude’s over sixty. He’s getting to that point where he is the superior version of the crazy old dude telling kids to scram out of his yard. Plus, his Irish accent is freaking killer. I mean, it’s similar to when Tom Cruise plays typical Tom Cruise. It usually avoids getting old, and both are crazy men who like to take baddies down. This is not to say that “Cold Pursuit” is Liam Neeson’s all time best work, I personally think “The LEGO Movie” might be, but still.

I also kind of like the bad guy in this movie. His name is Trevor “Viking” Calcote, he’s played by Tom Bateman, and while he definitely has some cliches of someone representing the idea of greed, I dug some of the execution of his character. This is especially true when you see how he treats his son. Because let’s face it, without going into too much detail about the movie, the way he treats his son is the same way White Castle would treat big hamburgers. They would much prefer not talking about them, or ever bringing them up in a conversation, similar to how when the son and “Viking’ talk to each other, there’s an intentional disconnect in chemistry.

When it comes to chemistry and execution of a few of the movie’s characters, those are the definite highlights of “Cold Pursuit,” that is, aside from the deaths. Unfortunately, it does not have many other highlights. I originally watched this movie on Friday, so I had time to gather some of my thoughts together before making a completed review. And I’m kind of glad I took that time. When it comes to the action in “Cold Pursuit,” it feels like the atmosphere of the movie itself. It’s all kinda dull, and it doesn’t really feel like there’s much to it. Unfortunately, much like this movie, it did not send chills down my spine.

And it’s almost like this movie didn’t always know what it wanted to be, because one of the taglines for this film is “Revenge is best served cold.” Doesn’t that sound like something out of a cheesy 1980’s action film starring Patrick Swayze and Arnold Schwarzenegger that takes place in Alaska or something? This movie could have been cheesy fun, but it wasn’t, it was serious garbage.

But I will give credit to one more thing about this movie before finishing this review off, and that happens to be the location choices. Everything looks beautiful on camera, especially when it is all surrounded by snow, which occasionally gives the movie the theme of “real s*it,” which I mean in a way describing various situations, but not the movie itself. Although then again, maybe it does describe the movie itself, because the movie is in fact, real s*it.

In the end, if you’re gonna watch “Cold Pursuit,” I recommend putting on some gloves, a hat, a jacket, whatever you can get to bundle up for the lackluster experience that this movie truly is. Liam Neeson is alright, the actors for the most part, while well cast, gave me a rather mixed collective reception. And I don’t feel like I’ll end up remembering this movie all that well. In fact, it was almost a waste of time. If it were not for the coolish death moments, all hope would be lost. This movie would be… Don’t say it… DON’T YOU DARE F*CKING SAY IT!…

…Ah, screw it.

LIFELESS! OK, lifeless!

I’m going to give “Cold Pursuit” a 3/10. Thanks for reading this review! I just want to remind everyone that pretty soon I am going to be doing an update on my Blu-ray collection, so please be on the lookout for that! I also recently bought the 4K for this year’s “The Kid Who Would Be King,” which I missed in the theater, however now that I own it, I have the chance to watch it and review it for the first time. Once I get around to watching it, and I’m not sure when this will happen, I will have a review for it. Please stay tuned! Be sure to follow Scene Before either with an email or WordPress account so you can stay tuned for more great content! I want to know, did you see “Cold Pursuit?” What did you think about it? Or, what is a movie that you think should have been more cheesy? Weird question, but I’m going with it. Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!