Cold Pursuit is officially available to stream on Netflix in the US as of early February 2026, giving viewers a fresh chance to dive into one of Liam Neeson’s most underrated—and unexpectedly sharp—action thrillers. Originally released in theaters in February 2019, the film quietly built a cult following through streaming and word-of-mouth, praised for blending bone-chilling revenge with deadpan humor and a cynical edge that sets it apart from standard Neeson-led vengeance tales. If you enjoy mysterious revenge stories laced with dark comedy and brutal, escalating consequences, this one stands out as colder, more methodical, and more morally ambiguous than the typical “taken” formula.
Directed by Hans Petter Moland (who remade his own 2014 Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance), Cold Pursuit follows Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson), a quiet, hardworking snowplow driver in the small Colorado ski resort town of Kehoe. Nels lives a simple, orderly life—clearing roads through blizzards, maintaining his equipment, and sharing a modest home with his wife Grace (Laura Dern). The community respects him enough to name him Citizen of the Year, a quiet honor that reflects his unassuming reliability. Everything changes when his only son Kyle (Micheál Richardson, Neeson’s real-life son) is kidnapped and murdered by members of a Denver-based drug cartel after a mix-up involving a cocaine shipment hidden in airport luggage.
The cartel stages Kyle’s death as a heroin overdose, leaving Nels and Grace devastated. Grace spirals into grief and withdrawal, while Nels—initially shattered—channels his pain into cold, calculated revenge. He begins methodically hunting down the low-level operatives responsible, using skills honed from years of reading crime novels: sawing off a rifle barrel for concealment, wrapping bodies in chicken wire to sink them in the river where fish strip the evidence clean. His early kills are efficient and detached, almost mechanical, reflecting the same precision he applies to snow removal.
What starts as personal vengeance spirals into something far larger. As Nels works his way up the chain, eliminating henchmen with colorful nicknames like Speedo, Limbo, and Santa, he unwittingly ignites a full-scale war between the cartel led by the flashy, volatile Trevor “Viking” Calcote (Tom Bateman) and a rival Native American crime syndicate run by White Bull (Tom Jackson). Bodies pile up, misunderstandings multiply, and the violence escalates from targeted hits to chaotic shootouts and kidnappings. Nels, the quiet everyman, becomes the unwitting catalyst for bloodshed he never intended, raising haunting questions about whether revenge ever delivers true justice or simply perpetuates more destruction.
The film’s tone is its greatest strength. While marketed as a straightforward Liam Neeson action vehicle, Cold Pursuit leans heavily into dark comedy and satire. The absurdity of the criminal underworld—drug lords with cartoonish nicknames, Viking’s spoiled son, the Native mob’s dry pragmatism—clashes brilliantly with the grim reality of murder and grief. Neeson’s deadpan delivery amplifies the humor; his stoic face rarely cracks, even as the body count rises and the chaos spirals. Lines land with dry wit, and the escalating misunderstandings create a blackly comic chain reaction reminiscent of Fargo—a comparison many viewers draw, as the snowy setting and quirky criminal personalities feel like a spiritual cousin to the Coen Brothers’ world.
Neeson delivers a restrained, powerful performance as Nels. Far from the roaring, one-man-army roles he’s known for, he plays a man of quiet fury and growing numbness. The grief is palpable in his silences, the violence carried out with mechanical efficiency rather than rage. Laura Dern brings heartbreaking depth to Grace, whose collapse into despair contrasts sharply with Nels’ outward calm. Supporting performances shine: Tom Bateman’s Viking is flamboyantly menacing yet pathetically insecure, while Tom Jackson’s White Bull grounds the Native storyline with stoic authority and sharp humor.
Visually, the film uses its snowy Colorado setting to chilling effect. Wide shots of endless white landscapes emphasize isolation and inevitability, while the snowplow itself becomes a symbol—both a tool of Nels’ daily life and, eventually, an instrument of death. Action sequences are brutal but not over-the-top: close-quarters fights, precise shootings, and a climactic confrontation that feels earned rather than explosive for its own sake.
Critics and audiences alike have noted Cold Pursuit‘s subversive take on the revenge genre. It refuses easy catharsis, instead showing how vengeance consumes everyone involved—heroes, villains, innocents. Nels’ quest for closure only deepens the tragedy, leaving viewers to ponder whether any satisfaction can come from bloodshed. The dark humor never undermines the emotional weight; it sharpens it, making the film’s cynicism feel earned and poignant.
Now streaming on Netflix US, Cold Pursuit is an ideal pick for anyone craving a thriller that surprises with its intelligence and bite. It’s colder and more cynical than most action flicks, blending brutal consequences with wry comedy in a way that lingers long after the credits roll. Liam Neeson’s understated lead performance, the sharp script, and the film’s refusal to glorify violence make it a standout in his later-career catalog—one worth rediscovering on a cold night with the volume up and expectations subverted.
