Liam Neeson is back on his action movie bullshit in Retribution and we’re in. We don’t even have to know the plot to know that Neeson is going to be in some sort of nice outfit, growling at people, and kicking ass. And that’s absolutely true in Retribution where he plays a bank executive who receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school. The plot twist is that the car is rigged with pressure sensors under the seats and the person on the phone can kill them at any moment.
This action movie is based on the 2015 Spanish film El desconocido. In that film, it follows kind of the same thread. It’s about a dishonest banker who pays the ultimate price when he’s held hostage by a bomb-making expert. The version from Spain gives us a little bit more context on what Neeson’s character is going to be facing. Because this isn’t random. This is a specific choice meant to scare his character Matt Truner.
Joining Neeson in the cast is Matthew Modine who plays Papa in Stranger Things. Jack Champion and Lilly Aspell play his children. Embeth Davidtz plays his wife and Noma Dumezweni plays an agent who is trying to figure out what’s going on and what has led Neeson’s character to where he is today. It was also directed by Nimród Antal, who is known for directing two episodes of Stranger Things and Servant.
Read the synopsis below:
When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under his car seat, Matt Turner (Neeson) begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks. With his kids trapped in the back seat and a bomb that will explode if they get out of the car, a normal commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt follows the stranger’s increasingly dangerous instructions in a race against time to save his family.
Watch the trailer for Retribution below:
Retribution hits theaters on August 25, 2023.
