As elevator pitches go, “Jamie Foxx in a Taken-style kick-ass-and-take-names thriller set in Las Vegas” is pretty darn compelling. If you’re wondering what the heck we’re talking about, the first trailer for the upcoming Sleepless hit the interwebs Wednesday, and its leading man spends most of the spot going all Liam Neeson on Sin City’s infamously seedy underworld.
Embedded above, the nearly three-minute long trailer follows Vincent Downs (Foxx), a cop with underworld ties who pursues his kidnapped son through one sleepless and blood-soaked night. The film is a re-imagining of a 2011 French film entitled “Nuit Blanche” (“Sleepless Night”), directed by Paris-born helmer Frédéric Jardin.
While some will certainly write it off as a mindless shoot-em-up-style action flick, there are plenty of reasons to be intrigued by this one. First off, Jamie Foxx seems to be one of those rare Hollywood leading men that never lose their star power and his charisma alone can carry a film. Second, its Swiss director, Baran bo Odar (Who Am I), though little-known in the U.S., is a star overseas. Third, breakout Stranger Things star David Harbour (aka, Jim Hopper/Hop) is on board.
Punctuated by explosions and the click-clack of reloading firearms, Drake’s Energy blares in the background of this trailer and the song’s “I got enemies, got a lot of enemies” refrain seems to sync up perfectly with the plot of the film itself. Unfortunately for the enemies in question, it looks like Foxx is — a la Neeson — always a couple of steps ahead.
Sleepless also stars T.I. (Ant-Man), Gabrielle Union (Bad Boys II), Dermot Mulroney (The Grey), and Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, Source Code). The film is set to hit theaters February 24, 2017.
