Time: 90 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language
Cast:
Liam Neeson as Matt Turner
Noma Dumezweni as Angela Brickmann
Lilly Aspell as Emily Turner
Jack Champion as Zach Turner
Embeth Davidtz as Heather Turner
Matthew Modine as Anders Muller
Arian Moayed as Sylvain
Director: Nimród Antal

While driving with his two kids, a man receives a phone call from an unknown assailant who claims there is a bomb in the car. Unable to exit the vehicle, he must now follow a series of twisted instructions while trying to figure out how to survive.

While there are some good Liam Neeson action movies like Non Stop, The Commuter and Taken, it seems that the majority of his recent flicks are rather average. His latest movie Retribution was receiving some really negative reviews, so I was just expecting something along the lines of above average thrillers like Honest Thief and Memory. I surprisingly enjoyed it though, at least more than I was expecting to.

The plot is forgettable, but it is simple enough. It boils down to Liam Neeson and his children being in a car which has a bomb attached to it. Neeson has to follow the orders of the bomber, and they can’t leave the car otherwise they blow up. I found it to be quite tense over the 90 minute runtime, even if it’s not the most surprising of thrillers. It kept me invested throughout and I was entertained. That said, it kind of falls apart when it reveals the identity of the villain. It doesn’t help that in a certain point halfway through the movie, it becomes incredibly obvious who it is. But the reveal of the villain in the third act does deflate much of the plot of the movie, and glaring plot issues begin to show. Even the motivation turns out to be rather boring and underwhelming.

At this point, Liam Neeson can play these action movies with his eyes closed, he usually gives the same in each of the movies. That being said, Retribution actually gives him the chance to really act. While his character is smart and resourceful, he doesn’t have a particular set of skills like in Taken or even The Commuter. Neeson does very well at conveying the stress and tension that his character is going through, and it does elevate the movie somewhat. Other actors do well, including Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Matthew Modine and Arian Moayed.

Nimrod Antal’s direction is pretty good, if standard. The scenes of tension are well done, and the chase scenes are well shot enough.

Retribution is a very flawed and familiar, but enjoyable, engaging and decent enough thriller, with a good Liam Neeson lead performance. If you’ve enjoyed some of his recent action movies, then you’ll probably like this too.