The second-best Neeson/Collet-Serra joint is this 2018 adventure, which came equipped with a stellar premise (Neeson’s former NYPD cop must solve a mystery while aboard a commuter train, or his family dies) as well as a perfect tag line (“LIVES ARE ON THE LINE”). (Streaming on Crave available for rent/purchase on the Cineplex Store, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube ) All the Daddy Action trademarks are here: a twisty plot, a hero fighting for/avenging/mourning a kid, a wildly overqualified supporting cast (Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong’o, and gosh-dang Shea Whigham!), and lots and lots and lots of ridiculous set-pieces involving physical activity that would kill a man of similar age. This 2014 production is easily the pair’s best collaboration, with Neeson’s alcoholic Federal Air Marshal thrust into a cat-and-mouse game aboard an international flight. (Streaming on Disney+ add-on Star and Crave with Starz available for rent/purchase on Apple TV/iTunes, the Cineplex Store, Google Play )Īfter Taken trashtermind Pierre Morel, the filmmaker most responsible for Neeson’s ascent to Daddy Action king is Jaume Collet-Serra, who has directed Neeson in four Liam versus the World thrillers. At one point destined for the direct-to-video landfill, Taken’s berserk themes and inspired casting birthed two vastly inferior sequels, an already-forgotten television series, and dozens of imitators, many of which would star Neeson himself. The movie, written by Eurosploitation action vets Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, is a master-class in bad taste done right. Rewatching Taken all these years later, it’s easy to see why the film made such an impact: Cast as a former CIA operative who must rescue his teenage daughter from Albanian sex traffickers, Neeson seethes with paternal, America-first rage that appeals on an uncomfortably visceral level. Pierre Morel’s deliciously trashy thriller completely rewired Neeson’s career, turning the respected dramatic actor into a sort of prestige Bruce Willis. ![]() And where does The Ice Road fit in? Well, I’ll tell you after the review embargo lifts this Friday.) ![]() (*Note: This list doesn’t include action films in which Neeson plays a supporting role, like Widows, or larger franchise fare in which Neeson is just along for the ride, such as Battleship, The A-Team, The Dark Knight Rises, and Wrath of the Titans. But which of Neeson’s many heroes – often semi-retired fathers put in impossible situations – is his best? To mark this week’s release of The Ice Road, yet another entry in Neeson’s very own sub-genre that we’re going to call Daddy Action, The Globe and Mail ranks the actor’s best one-man murder shows.* Remember the Liam Neeson who was nominated for an Academy Award for his heart-wrenching performance in Schindler’s List? Yeah, that guy is dead, throat-kicked by the new Liam Neeson, a take-no-prisoners badass who employs a particular set of skills to kill drug dealers, gangsters, sex traffickers, and, um, wolves.Įver since Neeson starred in 2008′s Taken, the actor has been pumping out low-rent revenge flicks at a remarkable pace.
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