When it comes to Cold Pursuit, good things are hard to come by. It doesn’t surpass the film its based on; In Order of Disappearance. Nor does it do anything riveting or compelling to elevate the quality of the film itself. And the characters are sadly bland. What we’re left with are many bad characters, which I wrote about recently. You’ll find the list of the worst characters here.
It is time to jump on the other side of the fence and focus on the good characters in this film. I am not saying that any of them are above a 4 out of 10, but some are better than others. Now, without further ado, I give you the 3 best characters in Cold Pursuit!
🥉 Mustang
Played by Domenick Lombardozzi
I bet you didn’t expect to see Domenick Lombardozzi on this list, huh? Well, the character he played was pretty good. Mustang had a believable behavior and a likable personality, with a very interesting backstory. While his hidden romance was was never explored, we did get an insight into his well-mannered and loyal ways. I mean, he was one of Viking’s henchmen, but he actually had more flavor than the rest.
While we didn’t get much of Mustang, but from beginning to the end, he was great. If only we would’ve gotten more of him. And speaking of endings, it made perfect sense for Mustang to turn on Viking, considering that he killed his boyfriend, Dexter. While Viking didn’t know that Mustang and Dexter were romantically involved, us as viewers knowing that gave us a better understanding as to why Mustang betrayed Viking. It might not mean much, but for him to be the one that gives up Viking’s location to White Bull is significant. Without that phone call, Viking wouldn’t have gotten killed. Plus, his relationship with Viking’s son is pretty awesome. Some plus points right there!
He’s not a big character, but for his short amount of screen time, he’s great. Therefore, I’m giving Mustang the 3rd spot on my list of the best characters in Cold Pursuit!
🥈 Nels Coxman
Played by Liam Neeson
His son gets killed. He loses his wife. He loses his will to live. In the blick of an eye, he finds the inner strength to pursue his son’s killer and bring down his own kind of justice. Through force and cunning, Nels finds a way to plow through everybody in his path, and it’s a sight to see!
When it comes to Liam Neeson, he rarely disappoints. He’s great in action-thrillers. In this film, he does a pretty good job, but the comedic parts were definitely silly and bad. I guess he can’t be good at everything, am I right? However, Liam Neeson was solid as Nels Coxman. Not that great or anything, but good enough for Cold Pursuit.
Neeson delivered, the character did not!
While Liam Neeson came to play, as he always does, he didn’t have much to work with when it came to his character, Nels Coxman. Firstly, it didn’t make sense for him to hardly react to his wife leaving him. It wasn’t even a big deal in terms of the storyline. Secondly, Nels was a tough old man, but why he was so tough was never explained. Thirdly, we didn’t get a proper ending to Nels Coxman’s story. The film just kind of stopped, and we never saw any personal growth or any character development. He just laughed with White Bull in the Snow Plow, and that was it. A comedic ending that made no sense and didn’t fit the film.
With that said, Nels Coxman is still the second best character in Cold Pursuit. But how? Well, Liam Neeson’s performance has a lot to do with it, and I’d say that the entire distraught dad angle was really good. It worked. It made sense. But sadly, the character overall wasn’t that good. I guess you could say that that’s the story of Cold Pursuit. No character is that good.
🥇 Trevor ‘Viking’ Calcote
Played by Tom Bateman
How fitting of Tom to honor a character that shares his last name; Bateman. I’m talking about Christopher Bale‘s Patrick in American Psycho. It’s undeniable that Viking has a bit of Patrick in him, with his over-the-top cockiness and self-centered behavior. Also, they both like killing people! But that’s not all. I’d say that Viking also has a sprinkle of Trevor (GTA 5) in him. Why? It’s the unpredictable nature and his harrowing actions that come at a whim. And that’s pretty close to the iconic Grand Theft Auto character, don’t you think? It’s also intimidating and darn scary!
In a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Viking is the perfect fit. He genuinelly feels crazy. He’s fun to watch and has great comedic timing, with a body language that speaks for itself. It helps that his cocky behavior is enhanced greatly by Tom’s performance, and so the character feels truly engraved into the bone marrow of the film. If only others would be as entertaining as he is, the film would’ve been much better. In turn, if you’re gonna watch Cold Pursuit, you’ll mostly only remember Viking. Whether you hate him or love him, he’s memorable and really interesting to follow. And that’s more than I can say about all the lackluster characters in this film.
Viking is entertaining. While he’s a ridiculously over-the-top character, portrayed well but to a point where he feels out of place, he’s the one you’ll remember when the credits roll. While he has problems, not being a good character, he’s good enough in this film. In it, most characters are rather poor, so Viking takes the cake and tops my list with ease. End of story. He’s the best of the worst characters in Cold Pursuit.