Over the past 10 or so years, Liam Neeson has played quite a few reluctant heroes. Grizzled and beat down by life, he doesn’t want to do the right thing—or anything, really—but he’ll do it if he has to. It’s the Neeson way.
That’s certainly the case in The Marksman, which finds Neeson behind on payments on his scraggly border ranch, underfeeding his cows, and living a pretty sad solo existence. Out for a drive one day, he practically runs over some migrants who are being chased by a Mexican drug cartel and only just crossed the border. Words are exchanged through the border wall, shots are fired, and ultimately, Neeson is left as the ward of a young boy, though now they’re both being hunted by the cartel. What follows is part road trip, part shoot-em-up, part ode to Chicago-style hot dogs.
The A.V. Club talked to Neeson about both what he takes on his hot dogs and his quest for moral victory. He also mourned the current system of immigration in the U.S., the struggle of refugees, and the sheer cruelty of a system that could actually lose almost 600 kids after separating them from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. All that and more can be found in the video above.
The Marksman will be available in select theaters January 15. If you decide to go to a theater, please be aware of the health risks.