Retribution – A Liam Neeson-Led Dud (Early Review)

Even though the drop in quality, box office returns, and budgets have been very much apparent for the last couple of years, there’s something oddly comforting and respectable about Liam Neeson still pumping out at least 2 action thrillers on average per year as he shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Retribution follows bank executive Matt Turner (Neeson) who receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school and is told his car will explode if they stop or get out. On paper, the film had all the makings to be an immensely enjoyable and schlocky 90-minute thrill ride that Neeson typically excels at but unfortunately, it is merely a thriller that plays it way too safe and winds up feeling like a copy of far better ones in the same vein with the most obvious comparison of course being Speed.

Director Nimród Antal is no stranger to helming these simple and contained types of thrillers and has made quite a few successful ones in the past (check out the highly underrated and tightly paced Armored, Predators or Vacancy for proof), so it’s very odd that even he couldn’t bring anything worthwhile or memorable to this. As far as Neeson’s latest films in recent memory, Retribution is a lot more polished and more competently made than most but at the same time, it is arguably the dullest and least intriguing with how little it actually does with its premise or surprisingly solid cast.

For a thriller, this just doesn’t generate many thrills or all that much in the way of excitement at all despite being primarily made up of explosions and car chases. It feels like the filmmakers had a great idea for a film but couldn’t quite come up with anything worthwhile to keep it moving. However, after a while, it seems like they ran out of ideas. It also doesn’t help that the action is largely unexciting, repetitive, and instantly forgettable. Action thriller element aside, the film offers a mystery angle which could’ve been a nice addition but unfortunately, everything from the get-go is so blatantly predictable and obvious that most audiences will see every twist and turn coming from a mile away long before a big third act reveal that is just laughable and nearly tanks everything that came after.

In the end, while Retribution isn’t very good, it’s at least the watchable type of bad film that at least had some effort put into it despite it failing to come together. Neeson’s Matt Turner may start off a bit unlikeable and selfish at first but it is easy to warm up to him thanks to his strong work. He can play an everyman just as well as he plays a badass assassin and it’s nice to see that he can still commit fully to all his roles considering he’s at the point in his career where he could be easily phoning in performances or simply not give them his all anymore. Jack Champion and Lilly Aspell as Matt’s children, Zach and Emily, are both solid and are given the most to do apart from Neeson. Meanwhile, not given the best material to work with or much to do at all, Matthew Modine, Embeth Davidtz, and Arian Moayed are nice additions to the supporting cast. Though it definitely has some entertaining sequences and has a promising enough setup, it immediately declines after that and never quite recovers.

There’s definitely a reason why Retribution isn’t on a lot of people’s radars or getting the biggest advertising campaign and that is because it is pretty lightweight and forgettable as a whole. While there are far worse films out there, it’s almost more disappointing how it squanders a premise so simple and full of B-movie potential. Neeson’s still got it and hopefully he keeps making action thrillers for the rest of his days, especially if they are still being released theatrically. Hopefully, they see a big increase in quality going forward because he’s been on a bit of a downward trend as of late.

still courtesy of Roadside Attractions

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/