Liam Neeson bids farewell to the action revenge genre with ‘Absolution’

Neeson’s final act: A reflection on a legendary career

Liam Neeson has hinted at retiring from the action revenge genre, a category that gave his career a successful resurgence with “Taken” in 2008. At 55, Neeson convincingly portrayed a hardened former CIA operative, combining age with a timeless vigor that resonated with audiences. Over the past 16 years, the Liam Neeson vigilante B-movie has become its own sub-genre, embodying no-frills, sadistic mayhem that fans eagerly anticipate. However, it’s often been Neeson’s towering presence and sinewy resolve that outshine the movies themselves.

The iconic “Taken” speech

The iconic speech from “Taken” still echoes in our minds: “I can tell you I don’t have any money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you…“. This line encapsulates Neeson’s unique skill set—he plays lone-wolf characters with a dark intelligence, a quality reminiscent of James Bond. Each moment is imbued with his clenched precision, making these films more compelling.

‘Absolution’: the farewell to vigilante B-movies

Absolution, Neeson’s latest lean-and-mean production, feels like the end of the road for his vigilante roles. In this movie, he portrays a gangster’s enforcer with no name, a fitting symbol of his character’s brutal efficiency and rusty cog status in the Boston underworld machine. Residing in a spacious, beat-up rental home in Winthrop, Massachusetts, across from Boston’s Logan Airport, he appears utterly isolated, keeping alcoholism as his only companion.

A darker, grittier Neeson

In “Absolution”, Neeson adopts a look that exudes rugged degeneration. Wearing an ancient long brown leather coat, with scraggly white-gray sideburns and a mustache that harken back to the ’70s, his character feels worn out. The visual comparison to the late sportswriter Frank Deford is apt, as Neeson embodies a thug who has never evolved and now finds himself drained.

A nuanced portrayal of memory loss

Playing a character suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a condition once referred to as “punch-drunk”—Neeson delivers a powerful performance. His sunken face and desperate scrawl of names in notebooks depict a man fighting to hold onto fragments of his identity. Movies like “Knox Goes Away”, where Michael Keaton played a hitman with dementia, come to mind. Yet, while “Knox Goes Away” was a craftier film, Neeson’s portrayal still resonates deeply.

A second collaboration with Hans Petter Moland

Neeson’s second collaboration with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland—their first being “Cold Pursuit“—features Moland’s distinctive talent for setting and atmosphere. He captures the essence of Boston’s second-tier underworld, a space less flashy but more prosaic in its criminal operations compared to New York. Neeson’s character is a quiet professional, juxtaposed against Ron Perlman’s avuncular yet affectless gangster boss and his trouble-making son, played by Daniel Diemer.

Rich in atmosphere, lacking in cohesion

While “Absolution” avoids being just another dumb action film, it leans on standard, yet disparate, devices. A lonely old violent henchman sipping cheap booze and scribbling notes to remember names, Neeson doesn’t make a false move, but the film struggles to elevate beyond its genre. His character, entangled in various subplots—reconnecting with a sex worker daughter, bonding with a mixed-race grandson through boxing, and rescuing a trafficked woman—feels weighed down by these elements.

The final note: A powerful yet flawed film

“Absolution” aspired to be more than a mere action flick. It almost reaches the level of Clint Eastwood’s elegiac films, but the patchwork narrative and standard tropes make it an awkward pedestal for Neeson’s talent. The dream sequences and well-staged suspense moments, like Neeson’s truck drive from New York, offer glimpses of the film’s potential. His outburst of class anger in a ritzy restaurant stands out, yet the movie never fully coalesces into a seamless whole.

Reflecting on Neeson’s legacy

As Neeson steps away from the action revenge genre, “Absolution” serves as both a tribute and a coda to his vigilante roles. This film, despite its flaws, highlights his extraordinary ability to elevate material beyond its foundation. While comments may be closed, share your thoughts on social media and stay tuned for more updates on this evolving legend in cinema.