Frank's film is much more of a noir outing than a straight action feature, and Neeson slips right into the tone and feel of the hard-boiled detective offering.

As a throwback to a type of nasty, ugly crime film of yesteryear, A Walk Among the Tombstones cleans up.

As nauseating as the film's inventive sadisms can be, Frank succeeds far more in the details than in the larger picture that tries to relate this world to ours.

It's not always perfect and may run a touch too long but it works heartily as a well-greased, appropriately artful affair.