This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
From a plane in Non-Stop to a train in The Commuter to a snow plough in Cold Pursuit, is there any form of transportation Liam Neeson can’t handle? Probably not, so it was only a matter of time before we saw him sitting in the hot driving seat of a slick Mercedes. With Retribution by director Nimród Antal (Control), he gets his own behind-the-wheel movie. While this remake isn’t as great as the original work, El desconocido by Dani de la Torre (La Unidad), or other booby-trapped-car films such as Speed, Neeson still has the onscreen physicality and demanding presence to lead a movie convincingly.
In Retribution, Neeson’s Matt Turner is the workaholic, success-driven banker/financier who lives for his job, not for his wife Heather (Embeth Davidtz) and kids. Don’t expect him to be the devoted father you see in Taken. No, when Matt has to take his precocious tween daughter, Emily (Lilly Aspell), and his rebellious teenage son, Zach (Jack Champion), to school, there’s a lot of mumbling, grumbling, and tension going on. What should have been a routine ride to school becomes a dangerous game of life and death when Matt receives an anonymous call that someone planted a bomb under his seat.
If he leaves his seat, the bomb will detonate due to a trigger plate mechanism. If his children get out or Matt doesn’t follow the voice’s instruction, the bomb-making extortionist will remotely set off the device. Matt must transfer money to the caller’s bank account to keep his family safe. At first, he doubts the legitimacy of the threat, but when he encounters a colleague who faces a similar emergency and who sadly meets a violent, explosive end, Matt knows the bomber isn’t playing games. The stakes rise drastically when the police think Matt is the terrorist, leaving a trail of destruction and murder throughout Berlin. However, as you know from Neeson’s backlog catalogue, he’s certainly not a person you want to mess with!
From the moment Neeson sits in the driver’s seat, it’s clear that Retribution becomes one of those confined thrillers that should fill you with excitement, anxiety, and fear. That is, if the script is in the right hands. Locke is essentially just Tom Hardy (Venom: Let There Be Carnage) driving and talking on the phone, but thanks to the gripping writing of Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things), the movie is extremely exciting. The same goes for Speed, the film that certainly inspired this work.
Sadly, Retribution doesn’t live up to those movies, as Antal doesn’t fully ignite the potential of Christopher Salmanpour’s script. There’s a spark, especially because the threat feels new, exciting, and dangerous. However, the longer the chase continues, the less hazardous and explosive the action movie becomes because of the ‘seen-it-all-before’ aspects. The threats aren’t hostile enough; the tension never reaches its peak, so the intended, exciting effect isn’t fully there.
Like the thrills, the emotions are also diluted, especially at the beginning, which is sometimes confusing. Where’s the panic, fear, and anger? It seems that Neeson’s character is submissive and not fearful when the antagonist threatens to detonate the bomb any second and when he and his family see his colleague being blown up to bits. He follows the instructions of the voice word for word instead of fighting the bomber.
Then he becomes a bull seeing red when pitted against his financial partner and friend (played by a fine but underused Stranger Things Matthew Modine). He’s out for violence and becomes the Neeson we love—the sturdy, angry protector. Everyone else in this film isn’t much more than just a supporting character with little to work with. We barely see Davidtz (Army of Darkness), and despite Aspell (Wonder Woman) and Champion (Avatar: The Way of Water) having a lot of potential, they don’t get much to do.
While Retribution certainly misses the overall excitement of Speed and the thrilling aspect of Locke, it’s still an entertaining and fast film that whizzes by. The big revelation might not surprise you, but at least you will see Neeson again being extremely good at what he does. There’s just one question that remains: Where will we find Neeson next? In a golf cart, rollercoaster, or food truck?
Retribution will debut in US theatres on the 25th of August, courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzQn0-WH4WM]
Freelancer by day. Film journalist by night.
