Liam Neeson plays a snowplow operator seeking revenge for the murder of his son in "Cold Pursuit." (Courtesy) 

It’s the first quarter of the year, which means it’s time for the latest “Liam Neeson punches things” series. It began with “Taken” and its two sequels. Then we got “The Grey,” then “A Walk Among the Tombstones” and last year “The Commuter.”

Now there is “Cold Pursuit,” a remake of the 2014 Norwegian film “Kraftidioten,” which basically translates to “Prize Idiot” in English. Its original English title was “In Order of Disappearance,” which is somehow worse. 

Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

The film follows Nelson “Nels” Coxman (Neeson), a snowplow driver in the resort town of Kehoe, Colorado. On the night he receives the Citizen of the Year award, his son, Kyle (Michael Richardson), is kidnapped and given a lethal injection by a group of gangsters.

Nels refuses to believe his son was a drug addict, while his wife, Grace (Laura Dern) emotionally shuts downs.

When Nels finds one of Kyle’s co-workers, who escaped the gangsters, hiding in his shop, he learns that Kyle was murdered for something he wasn’t involved with.

Then Nels does what any sane, rational man would do – seek bloody revenge.

Nels reaches out to his brother, Brock (William Forshythe), a reformed gangster. Brock discovers that the men who killed Kyle were working for a crime boss named Viking, the alias for wealthy socialite and overly protective father, Trevor Calcote (Tom Bateman).

As Viking’s men begin to disappear, he wrongly assumes it is the work of White Bull (Tom Jackson), the head of a Native American drug operation that has a truce with Viking’s father.

While Nels continues his journey for vengeance, war breaks out between White Bull and Viking, leaving a trail of bodies and missing gangsters all over Kehoe.

“Cold Pursuit” is directed by Hans Petter Moland, the Norwegian filmmaker responsible for “In Order of Disappearance.” It’s nice when the director of the original makes the English remake, but it doesn’t always work.

I had never even heard of the original film, so I can’t really compare the two, but it has a distinct Eurpoean flair. 

The most remarkable thing about “Cold Pursuit” is despite being billed as an action flick, it’s really not. There is action, but the film is more of a dark comedy. A streak of black humor running through the film includes an ongoing body count (half of the deaths are chuckle worthy).

“Cold Pursuit” isn’t life changing. It’s not going to be analyzed for decades by film critics, except maybe for someone to put on a list of underrated gems. However, it is fun to watch. A movie doesn’t have to be a classic to be enjoyed.