Michael's Movie Grade: B-
Despite being a very conventional Liam Neeson vehicle, this movie proves that as cliché as it is, there is still a lot of fun to be found in these films.
Stop me if you heard this one before, someone messes with Liam Neeson and through various tense action scenes he gets his revenge. I know this sounds like 80% of the movies he is in, but this film shows there is still life in this formula. First and most importantly for a movie like this, the action scenes are very well done. The excellent pacing, tense acting (especially from Neeson) and Mark Isham's music score all make these action scenes work to their best advantage. While the main character does not have much depth, he is likable enough for us to root for him. This is important because this is what makes the film have a sense of suspense, because we really want this guy to prove his innocence. Also helping is that the main villain is completely evil, but is so in a way that doesn't feel like a caricature. Because of this we take joy in watching revenge being taken out on him. One thing that is surprisingly really good about this movie is the romance. Neeson and Kate Walsh have fantastic chemistry together and it is a joy to watch them share the screen. For such an over the top movie, the romance is very sweet and believable. This keeps the film grounded and relatable even when it is over the top.
This film provides us with the pure escapism we all need right now.
Note: I saw this film in a theatre and it feels so good to be back. While I like watching movies at home, there is a magic to seeing a film in a theatre that can never be captured anywhere else. While this is not the first movie I saw in a theatre since Covid it was the first I saw in Dolby. After this long absence from it, the Dolby experience blew me away.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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