Retribution: Liam Neeson Trapped in a Thrilling Remake
Matt Turner (Liam Neeson) is a successful investor and seemingly devoted family man. One ordinary Berlin morning, while driving his children to school, Matt receives an unexpected phone call from an anonymous stranger. Using a digitally altered voice, the caller claims that Matt is sitting on a bomb, and if he attempts to leave the car with his children, it will detonate. Now, Matt is forced to follow the villain’s orders: sacrifice his money, witness the death of colleagues, and become a criminal in the eyes of the police.
Liam Neeson as Matt Turner in a scene from “Retribution”
Of all the trials and tribulations Liam Neeson has faced on screen, the ordeal of being trapped in a car was one he had yet to experience (after planes, trucks, and trains). Director Nimród Antal rectifies this oversight in a film that marks the third remake of the Spanish story about a banker whose car is rigged with explosives. This B-movie thriller starring Neeson is a case of unnecessary multiplication. The seventy-one-year-old Brit finds himself embroiled in crime once again, forced to tread the path of war – this time, thankfully, in a slightly different role. He’s no longer a highly skilled mercenary ready to take on any thug, but rather a co-owner of an investment fund, in short, a respectable family man lured into a deadly trap. Now, he’s the one being threatened over the phone (after the first “Taken,” everyone knows how dangerous Neeson is on the other end of the line). “Retribution,” a title as senseless in the original as it is in the localization, is reminiscent of Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth”: a confined space, taut suspense, a decent man forced to obey a telephone maniac, albeit with a twist. In the 2000s, such films were memorable, carving out an entire genre: the big city became a territory of unsettling calls and trials. Today, however, this approach is less inspiring – “Retribution” becomes just another derivative among similar works.
Lilly Aspell as Emily in a scene from “Retribution”
There’s something to watch: Neeson doesn’t skillfully arm himself this time but tries not to make mistakes in a state of anxiety (especially since he’s initially suspected of being a lone wolf terrorist). There are some conflicting points in the story – is the well-fed and successful co-owner of the fund entirely clean? Does it smell of blood money? And so on – an obvious leitmotif with anti-capitalist undertones. Of course, the intrigue abruptly ends when the film begins to involve other characters in the plot: the negligent police officers and, finally, the telephone blackmailer himself, whom the script has wronged the most. “Retribution” is a common case where everything starts well and engagingly, but Neeson’s car chooses to evacuate to a warehouse of genre clichés: the pushover behind the wheel gradually hardens and, by the climax, is ready to challenge the villain, especially since he readily gives himself away.
Liam Neeson as Matt Turner in a scene from “Retribution”
Neeson’s Routine Action
Neeson’s films haven’t been groundbreaking for a long time, and “Retribution” is also a grounded product designed for quick carbohydrate replenishment. Sweeping shots along Berlin’s highways, a few explosions, a cool car stunt, and a protagonist who doesn’t even have to get out of his seat to be a man – this is the standard package of a phenomenon that can be called “Liam Neeson in a movie twice a year.” The only significant plus that distinguishes the film from other genre trinkets is the cold, not particularly temperamental actor, whose eyes reflect the entire hour-and-a-half of sorrow. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in place of the British action star: Neeson is a master of his craft, always finding a way out of trouble, even if there are explosives under his seat.