I like Liam Neeson so darn much that I find myself trying, perhaps subconsciously, to go easy on him. Not exactly apologizing for him, but trying to look upon films like Blacklight and The Marksman with a sense of goodwill toward an actor who has certainly earned it over a long career.
Neeson’s newest film, ‘Memory,’ stands on its own as a well-crafted action thriller. It’s a better screenplay, a better director, and a better cast than we’ve seen recently from the almost 70-year old Oscar nominee. He’s still kicking ass and trying to quit whatever job he’s doing-now familiar tropes-but he’s in a better class of movie.
Neeson plays Alex Lewis, a skilled and longtime assassin. It seems that he’s mostly taking out really bad people while being paid by really bad people. He wants to get out of the racket-he’s tired, but “they” won’t let him. They want him to do a two-fer and it’s clear that he can’t refuse.
But when he takes out the first target, someone involved in trafficking of underage girls, he moves on to the second target, only to discover that it is one of the trafficking victims- an innocent young teenage girl.
Oh, hell no.
Now caught between a moral rock and a hard place, Alex refuses to finish the gig that goes against his code (yes, folks, even assassins have ethics). So now he has to find and kill the people who hired him, because now he is the target.
Complicating things: FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) is also trying to find him, and getting very close.
So far, so good–we have Liam’s story, the bad guys’ story, and the good guys’ story all interweaving seamlessly, keeping us invested and adding palpable tension to the narrative.
The part that did not work as well for me and it relates to the film’s title, is the subplot of Neeson’s memory going out on him. He apparently has early stages of Alzheimer’s, and while it thankfully does not become a huge part of the overall proceedings, it does feel slightly clumsy when used as a device in a few scenes. It’s an unnecessary gimmick, though it is used as a payoff in the final act that mostly works.
Director Martin Campbell has two successful James Bond flicks under his belt, so he knows his way around staging action sequences. The fight sequences with Neeson are credible and well-choreographed.
And the casting, for once, doesn’t leave Liam as the lone “name” in the bunch. Pearce is, of course, a veteran actor with dozens of great performances on his resume (L.A. Confidential, Memento, The Hurt Locker) and he acquits himself nicely here. Monica Bellucci plays the matriarch of an evil family whose secrets and sins form the foundation of everything that Neeson is doing.
Hey, it ain’t high art, but it is solid action thriller and it feels like the man I like so much is back in a picture that is worthy of his talent.
Memory opens in theatres April 29th | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R | Open Road Films
