Directed by Nimród Antal
Starring Liam Neeson, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Modine, and Noma Dumezweni

I know what you’re thinking. Not yet another Liam Neeson action/thriller. Care factor by now is either at zero or close to it, right? After churning out a couple of stinkers lately such as Blacklight and The Ice Road, and not starring in anything belonging to this genre that’s even close to as good as Taken, you have every right to be looking the other way. Retribution doesn’t exactly give me any major reason to coerce you into seeing the film either, let alone at the cinema. Heck, even I needed some encouragement and reassurance to give it a go after initially declining the screening invite! If, however, spending an hour and a half frantically driving through the city streets of Berlin with Mr Neeson, similar to what Franka Potente did on foot in the 1998 classic German film Run Lola Run, in a premise that has similarities to 1994 hit Speed sounds just a wee bit exciting, I can concur it indeed is. 

Now, please don’t misinterpret my comparisons there. Retribution is by no means a classic, nor does it send Liam Neeson on a path to viewer redemption. This third remake of acclaimed Spanish film El Desconocido (after Germany’s Steig. Nicht. Aus! and South Korea’s Balsinjehan) is on par with, if not even marginally better, than recent releases such as Honest Thief, The Commuter, and Cold Pursuit.

Let’s elaborate a little on that Speed-like premise, shall we?

Substituting Run Lola Run’s iconic techno soundtrack for a tense score and the city bus for a black SUV (my memory recalls), Berlin based American businessman Matt Turner (Liam Neeson) receives a call from an unknown number on an unknown cell phone left in his vehicle advising there is a bomb in his car. Rather than being forced to keep the vehicle speed above 50 mph in order to survive, Matt is afforded the flexibility by his anonymous caller to even come to a complete halt. The one rule that if broken will kill not only Matt, but also his two children, Emily and Zach (played by Lilly Aspell and Jack Champion), sitting in the rear seats, is if one of them leaves their seat. The caller has eyes on Matt’s every move, knows an awful lot about his business dealings and demands Matt obeys every order instructed if he wants to keep his children and himself alive.

Let’s be honest. This plot is as forced as Matt’s son Zach was getting a ride to school in an early scene. It is a formula, however, that has more than worked before and in Retribution’s case, is perfectly passable. It does have its caveats, of course. None more so than the unashamedly wooden dialogue that often sees Liam Neeson grumbling and grizzling every formulaic line one has heard from him before in similar previous films. Though its simple dialogue also made me grumble and grizzle, I remained equally glued to my seat courtesy of the swift pacing of the film’s proceedings, its reasonable level of sustained tension, and one or two neat little twists.

Retribution is showing in cinemas across Australia from September 21st.

Moviedoc thanks Studiocanal and Annette Smith: Ned & Co for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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