It isn’t an actual film universe but I like to imagine that Liam Neeson is trying to conquer films in every vehicle you can think of. You have Neeson on a plane in Non-Stop, Neeson on a train in The Commuter, Neeson on an ice road truck in The Ice Road, and now Neeson in his Mercedes Benz car in Retribution.
Retribution, directed by Nimród Antal (Predators, Stranger Things, and Servant) tells the story of Matt Turner (Liam Neeson) a banking executive who receives a bomb threat while driving his kids to school. The bomb however is under the seat in his car and it will go off if they leave the car. Turner and his family are held hostage within the confines of the car whilst the perpetrator tries to unravel Turner’s life.
Non-Stop and The Commuter are actually both really good, very American box-office, thrillers. They’re both a decent 7/10 watch. This Thriller is a good addition to that collection but falters in its resolution. The short run time of the film really stops the story from developing other characters too much. You learn small tidbits about Matt Turner’s life but you can already guess that he is being targeted for something he may have done wrong from the get-go. In Neeson’s other vehicle thrillers you’re on his side from the start however here you kind of think he’s a bit of a jerk who might deserve it somewhat.
Set in Berlin, Germany, the film has that Neeson thriller feel, something about Liam Neeson storming about Europe has captured box office success and the non-American setting is a breath of fresh air that his thrillers always have. Retribution doesn’t exactly create anything new but is more of what you love if these types of thrillers are your go-to movies. You can’t help but laugh in moments of pure ridiculousness but at the same time, you drive home thinking how uncomfortable you would be stuck in a car with a bomb under the driver’s seat.
The Liam Neeson Vehicle Universe is entertaining, personally, I love it and I will be there every time. Retribution doesn’t meet the standards of Non-Stop or The Commuter but it is better than The Ice Road, third place isn’t bad. The issue here is a waste of potential with two supporting characters that could’ve used a lot more diving into instead of diving into Liam Neeson’s character who you already know why he is being targeted. You also have a lot less of Neeson solving what is going on, his wild frantic searching is what makes Non-Stop and The Commuter great because he genuinely feels stressed out but knows he still has a job to do. Maybe limiting Neeson to the confines of a car is probably doing harm even though that is the plot of the movie.
The writers and director seem to have probably thought a similar thing with the ending that Retribution has. The film has an obscure ending to create some sort of excitement but inevitably it is forgettable instead and only remembered for the weird choice that it is. Liam Neeson and the rest of the cast are all great and filming a whole movie with the main cast in a car for the entire time is hard to keep fresh so extra marks for director Nimród Antal for that.
Retribution is, unfortunately, an obvious and not well-fleshed-out enough thriller. There are other films set only in a car that are as intense as Retribution is. All my bad thoughts on the film aside, I still enjoyed watching it because I know what I’m getting into. It is another film in the Liam Neeson Vehicle Universe (I’ll keep saying it until it is a thing) where he shouts into a phone or at someone to leave his family or the people in the vehicle alone and you know the person on the other end is in trouble. That’s just cinema, it’s Liam Neeson being a badass and I will always want more…just maybe a little more fleshed out next time, maybe a cruise ship in a Neeson thriller meets Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile type vibe.
Score: A generous 2.5 vehicles that Liam Neeson is stuck on out of 5.