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Action icon Liam Neeson is headed to Max...but he doesn’t remember that he’s an action icon. The Taken star leads 2011’s Unknown, which finds the acclaimed actor taking the lead as a man who, after waking up from a coma, doesn’t remember who he is. But, even stranger, no one else remembers him either. And another man is claiming to be who he thinks he is. While that may have made the movie sound a little confusing, it’s really not, with the movie allowing Neeson to leap from a frightened everyman to the grizzled action star we’ve all come to know and love.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who recently found huge success on Netflix with the Christmas action outing Carry-On, Unknown stars Liam Neeson alongside Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella. Based on the 2003 French novel by Didier Van Cauwelaert,...

Liam Neeson may have all the skills he needed to lead the Taken franchise to success across three movies that redefined his career, but many people are just discovering that this was just the beginning for the saga of Bryan Mills. The TV series prequel to the Taken franchise is currently streaming on Freevee and has debuted at the top of the streamer’s TV show chart.

The series, which was released in 2017 and stars Clive Standen in the lead role, tracks a younger Bryan Mills, showing how he became the man with the skills that everyone grew to love more than a decade earlier. A former Green Beret who experiences a personal tragedy, Mills' path is set when he becomes bent on revenge while moving into a deadly career as a CIA operative that will certainly come in useful years later.

The series received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.

The movie that turned Liam Neeson into an action star is heading to Hulu. Taken, as well as Taken 3, will begin streaming on the Disney-owned streamer next month.

Beginning Feb. 1, Taken and Taken 3 will be available to stream on Hulu. Released in 2008, Taken stars Neeson as retired CIA operative Bryan Mills, who sets out to track down his teenage daughter Kim and her best friend Amanda after they are kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers while on vacation in France. Taken was an unexpected hit with audiences, with the action movie grossing over $225 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.

Related 'It Has to Stop': Liam Neeson Reveals Plans to Retire From Action Movies

At 72 years old, Liam Neeson shares when he plans to stop starring in action movies.

A sequel, Taken 2, was released in 2012 and sees the tables being turned on Bryan Mills, with him being kidnapped instead of his daughter.

Liam Neeson has had quite an interesting career over the last few decades. Early in his career, he became an Oscar-nominated actor, recognized for his work in the leading role in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. He has also received Golden Globe nominations for Michael Collins and Kinsey. As such, many of his works have been critically acclaimed, including Everest, Widows, Husbands and Wives, Ponyo, and Batman Begins. Thus, Neeson is a well-respected and acclaimed actor of his generation.

However, Neeson's career has also been saturated with action movies that are poorly reviewed, including Blacklight, Taken 3, and Men in Black: International. In addition, many of his films have disappointed at the box office. Despite receiving positive reviews, the pre-covid Ordinary Love made less than $1 million at the worldwide box office. His recent 2024 film Absolution also struggled at the box office, getting just $3.4 million. However, another 2024 movie starring Neeson is...

Beloved aged action hero Liam Neeson continues to demonstrate his particular set of skills...with mixed results. But, while some of his action movies may be middling (or less) thriller fare, the renowned actor returned to the genre once again to deliver something righteous in 2023’s In the Land of Saints and Sinners. And it's now finding success on Prime Video. Amid all the new and old movies that landed on the streaming platform at the start of the new year, action fans are turning to Neeson to get 2025 off to the right start.

Directed by Robert Lorenz and written by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane, In the Land of Saints and Sinners is an Irish production and stars Liam Neeson in the lead role, alongside Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Colm Meaney and Ciarán Hinds. The action thriller sees Neeson reunite with The Marksman director for this tale of a former hitman who,...

Liam Neeson has been in a wide range of projects. On the one hand, he is a prominent actor in the action film world. He led the Taken franchise, where he played a father in desperate search of his kidnapped daughter. His two most recent films have also been action-based, including Absolution and In the Land of Saints and Sinners. The actor is known for his intensity in roles like this, making him a well-suited lead for high-octane action.

On the other hand, Neeson has also been a part of a number of award-winning movies. He was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role in Schindler's List, a movie that has been regarded as one of Spielberg's best. He also took part in The Dark Knight trilogy, films that are regularly regarded among the best comic book adaptation films of all time. Neeson treats drama with the same...

One of Liam Neeson's worst movies has become a global Netflix hit two years after its release. Beginning his film career in 1978, the Irish actor broke through with his portrayal of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed Holocaust drama Schindler's List in 1993, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. From there, Neeson took on several roles in blockbuster movies, including Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, and Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy.

However, starting in 2009, Neeson established himself as a prominent action star with roles in the Taken movies, The A-Team, The Grey, Wrath of the Titans, and Cold Pursuit. He's collaborated multiple times with director Jaume Collet-Serra, starring in four of his action films – Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night, and The Commuter. Even as he's expressed interest in retiring from the genre,...

Liam Neeson's name would certainly be towards the top of the list when listing the biggest action stars working today. Neeson is perhaps best known for the Taken movies, wherein he plays a father who is desperately looking for his kidnapped daughter. Taken is now a movie trilogy, which began in 2008 and concluded in 2014 with Taken 3. Taken was also later adapted into a 2017 TV series starring Clive Standen in Neeson's former role as Bryan Mills.

Taken is far from the only action film that Neeson has become known for, however. He also plays the villain Ra's Al Ghul in two films within Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, another hugely popular action franchise. Just this year, Neeson was in the action film Absolution, where he played an aging gangster who is trying to forgive himself for his past and restore relationships with his children, only to...

A nine-year-old Liam Neeson movie that received mixed reviews from critics is finding newfound success on Netflix. Run All Night is currently #5 on Netflix's list of Top 10 Movies in the United States.

Neeson starred alongside Joel Kinnaman, Ed Harris and Common in Run All Night, a film about an ex-Irish mob hitman who is forced to kill the son of a mob boss and goes on the run with his own estranged son. Run All Night was released in 2015, grossing $71.6 million worldwide and earning mixed reviews from critics. The film has a 59% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's critics' consensus saying "Liam Neeson is in typically fine form, but Run All Night suffers from a convoluted plot and workmanlike execution."

Related 'We Had All Lost a Patriarch': Mufasa Director Confirms Tribute to James Earl Jones in Lion King Prequel

Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King prequel movie will feature...

Fans of Liam Neeson (Obi-Wan Kenobi) might already be mourning his retirement from the action genre, but this doesn't mean that we're just going to stop seeing him altogether. One of the actor's next exciting projects is Absolution, a thriller in which he plays an aging gangster attempting to reconnect with his children and right his own wrongs. In order to tease the upcoming movie, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment allowed Collider to debut a sneak peek that gives us a bigger sense of what's going on in the story. The movie is available to rent or buy now on demand.

If you’ve just finished Hans Petter Moland’s new crime drama “Absolution” (2024), and wondering what the hell happened there, this is the right place to scroll. The Liam Neeson starrer crime drama never really convinced me to take it seriously, and I’d be damned if anyone else did either. Moland goes out of his way to make people believe that Neeson still is the guy you want to see, but who are we kidding here? The sloppy script fails to provide us with any substance one can expect from a movie, and the weak acting from the supporting cast only accelerates the sinking of this ship.

Absolution (2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis: Can Thug Escape His Past?

Liam Neeson plays Thug in Absolution – an enforcer for a local gangster named Charlie. Charlie’s son Kyle wants to prove himself to his father, and he gets Thug as his right-hand man.

Exclusive: We can tell you that Frankie Shaw’s feature directorial debut, the dark comedy 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, starring Liam Neeson, has nabbed a domestic distribution deal with Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion label, as well as Miramax boarding as financier and producer. In addition, Deadline can show you first these photos from the set.

The movie, which reps a re-team between Shaw and Neeson after the latter’s action title, Absolution, began production earlier this week in Ireland.

Kinofilms Inc, and Picturestart are also financing. FilmNation is handling international sales. Deadline first told you about the package coming together out of TIFF when FilmNation launched sales.

Based on the Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss graphic novel, and steeped in ’90s nostalgia, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank centers around Paige who has just lost her mother. Her grandfather steps into to become a more responsible guardian. When...

Liam Neeson's underrated 2015 mob movie Run All Night is now streaming on Netflix. Neeson, who turned 72 in 2024, has kept up his momentum as one of the best leading actors in action movies working in Hollywood today with 2024's Absolution. Many of Neeson's best action films are essentially one-person army tales that portray the talented actor's physical tour-de-force performances. Run All Night certainly falls into this iconic category of Neeson action thrillers.

Run All Night is one of several collaborations between Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra, which also includes 2011's Unknown, 2014's Non-Stop, 2018's The Commuter, and 2023's Retribution. Neeson is currently slated to star in the 2025 remake of The Naked Gun and the Jonny Campbell-directed thriller Cold Storage alongside Lesley Manville and Joe Keery. A sequel to Run All Night is currently in development with Neeson set to return with Joel Kinnamon's Mike Conlon character.

Run All Night...

Ron Perlman has had a remarkable career. His first film was an Oscar winner (Quest for Fire) from a great director; later that decade, he'd win a Golden Globe for the TV series Beauty and the Beast. He's been in everything from big franchise movies and international arthouse films to indie horror and numerous classics with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. But when MovieWeb spoke with Perlman about his new film with Liam Neeson, Absolution, he surprised us when he named the film in his career that he's the proudest of — and it's one hardly anybody has seen.

"I had a production company for about five or six years called Wing and a Prayer Pictures, and I produced about nine movies," explained Perlman. He continued:

"And the first one we identified was called Asher, and it was actually the last movie we produced. It was the movie that killed the company.

He’s back, and this year before Thanksgiving, and even as #1 at iTunes.

We’re talking about the Grinch. Two Universal hits featuring the Dr. Seuss character — one live-action (Ron Howard’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey), one animated (“The Grinch” from 2018) — both have returned to top 10 VOD lists. And with a vengeance — “How the Grinch” is #1 at iTunes (which ranks by transactions) but even more impressively #7 at Fandango. With that site calculating by revenue, the $3.99 rental cost at 20 percent of the normal $19.99 level (eight of their 10 films have that), it means a huge volume that likely made it tops in transactions there.

Netflix originals continue their hot hand, with five of the top six positions on their U.S. movie chart Monday. “The Piano Lesson,” from August Wilson’s play and featuring Danielle Deadwyler’s award-touted lead performance, is #6 at the moment after debuting at #5 over the weekend.

Liam Neeson's $493M mythological epic is moving to a new streaming home come December. For Neeson, 2024 was a busy year chock-full of new projects, including filming the Seth MacFarlane-developed Naked Gun reboot set for release in August 2025. His other projects released in 2024, including Absolution and Wildcat, are awaiting worldwide releases following a limited theatrical run in the United States.

Neeson has built a formidable career with a balance of dramatic gravitas and commanding action roles, from his Oscar-nominated role as Oskar Schindler in Schindlers List to redefining the modern action hero of Bryan Mills in Taken. Neesons ability to captivate viewers across a multitude of genres is impressive. Throughout the 2000s, Neeson added mythological epics to his repertoire, playing larger-than-life roles in films such as Clash of the Titans and Ra's al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, among others.

Neeson's Clash of the Titans Remake...

Liam Neeson’s Absolution is the same old tale about a gangster trying to redeem himself of his past mistakes. And with that said, you already know how the film ends. Our aging gangster, named Thug, was once a celebrated boxer. After his professional career came to an end, Thug turned towards the world of crime and walked out on his family. For 30 long years, he had been working for a mobster, Charlie Conner, and even spent some time in prison. Thug’s life had been going just fine, until one day, he was diagnosed with Cte (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy). This usually happens to athletes who have taken too many blows to the head. During his meeting with the doctor, Thug tells her that he had his first blow to the head when he was six or seven. Well, it wasn’t a surprise that Thug grew up around a strict and toxic father,...

Hitman 3 is one of the greatest stealth games of all time. Besides Splinter Cell and Dishonored, this franchise from Io Interactive has made a special place in everyone’s hearts. The game right now has become part of Hitman: World of Assassinations clubbed with the previous two Hitman titles.

Hitman 3 was released on 20 January 2021. | Credit: Io Interactive.

The huge popularity of this game is solely based on its badass character, Agent 47, and its intricate stealth gameplay. People liked the pure single-player experience. However, Io Interactive too followed a path, that most developers have delved in.

Hitman 3 Had to Follow the Live-Service Model Hitman 3‘s Season 1 was criticized. | Credit: Io Interactive.

Fortnite or Apex Legends may come to mind when you think of live service games. Perhaps you’re a huge Marvel Snap fan or have mixed feelings about EA Fc. Nowadays, live service games are commonplace, and most players spend hours playing Warzone,...

Ron Perlman has been a Hollywood stalwart with over 300 credits as an actor, director, and producer. We recently spoke with Perlman about his latest feature, Absolution, where he co-stars with Liam Neeson as a ruthless Boston crime lord. We get to see Perlman without thick layers of makeup and prosthetics, which have covered the actor in some of his most memorable work, from In the Name of the Rose and Beauty and the Beast to Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy films.

Perlman and del Toro have worked together for more than three decades and are close friends, so it's a bit surprising that Perlman isn't playing Frankenstein's monster in the filmmaker's new Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. He'd be perfect. Perlman was quite supportive of the film, nonetheless:

"I know that Guillermo is always going to get the best people for what his vision kind of tells him is needed.

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The great Ron Perlman discusses working opposite Liam Neeson in the dramatic new thriller, Absolution. He also gets personal about his meaningful friendship with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and shares the one movie he's possibly the proudest of, and it's one few people have heard of. Absolution released Nov. 1, 2024, from Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Opening theatrically on November 1, 2024, Absolution is the latest action extravaganza starring Liam Neeson as a vengeful one-person wrecking crew. However, those entering the film blind expecting the same tried-and-true Neeson revenge formula will be surprised by the artistic flourishes that separate it from the pack.

Although Neeson fans saw a similar heightened aesthetic in Cold Pursuit, also directed by Hans Petter Moland, Absolution focuses more on artistic vision through stunning cinematography, frigid atmosphere, unforgettable music, and measured pacing. The result allows Neeson to give a more nuanced, pensive performance that is different enough to attract new and old fans.

2.5/5 Absolution R

Release Date November 1, 2024Director Hans Petter MolandRuntime 122 MinutesMain Genre CrimeCast Liam Neeson, Ron Perlman, Daniel Diemer, Yolonda Ross, Omar Moustafa Ghonim, Tom Kemp, Ryan Homchick, William Xifaras, Josh Drennen, Kris Eivers, Ryan Caraway, Terrence Pulliam, Ghia Truesdale, Kayla KohlaWriters Tony Gayton Expand What Is Absolution About?

Samuel Goldwyn Films

An American action crime thriller,...

I’ve been lucky in my job at JoBlo to interview a lot of the legends I grew up watching on the silver screen, but until recently I never had the chance to chat with one of the all-timers, Liam Neeson. I was a monster fan of his from way back, even before he reinvented his career thanks to the breakout success of Taken. I grew up watching him in movies like Darkman, Rob Roy, Schindler’s List, and many others.

But, the thing is – when you interview a legend, there’s always that worry that they might let you down. Suffice it to say that was Not the case with Neeson, who proved to be an affable, friendly, and down-to-earth fellow. I had a very nice conversation with him about his latest movie, Absolution, in which he plays an aging thug trying to atone for past misdeeds. While our internet...

Venom: The Last Dance easily laid claim to the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row, while Here barely managed to crack the Top 5. Eddie Brocks (Tom Hardy) final go-round as the Spider-Man anti-hero in Sonys symbiote trilogy dropped 49% between its first and second weekends of release, but the film managed to make an estimated $26.1 million (per The Numbers). Meanwhile, the unofficial Forrest Gump reunion, Here, that reteamed director Robert Zemeckis with stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, fell flat on its single-framed face at No. 5 with only $5 million.

Here carried a fairly heavy production budget of $45 million into the weekend, but the Hanks and Wright-led drama barely made back any of its production cost and that doesnt include how much TriStar Pictures spent on marketing and advertising. Meanwhile, Venom: The Last Dance didnt have any problem ascending to No. 1 again because...

The independent film fall festival love affair with moviegoers continues with A Real Pain posting the year’s third best per screen average. Anora continues its standout run as does Conclave. The Ralph Fiennes-starring Vatican thriller is no. 4 at the box office in week 2. A24’s We Live In Time is no. 6.

Searchlight Pictures’ A Real Pain debuted to $240k at just 4 theaters for a $60k PSA, in the top three for 2024 after Kinds Of Kindness earlier in the year (also from Searchlight) and Anora, from Neon last month. The comedy written and directed by Eisenberg stars The Social Network star with Succession’s Kieran Culkin as cantankerous cousins exploring their family roots on a road trip in Poland. Won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Best Screenplay at its Sundance premiere.

Neon’s Anora by Sean Baker is pushing $1.9 million over the three days on 253 screens in...

“Venom: The Last Dance” topped the box office again as newcomer “Here,” a fantasy drama that uses AI so Tom Hanks and Robin Wright can play younger (and older) versions of themselves, fizzled in its debut.

“Here,” which was produced and financed by Miramax and distributed by Sony, opened in fifth place with $5 million from 2,647 North American theaters. The film, which reunites the “Forrest Gump” co-stars with their director Robert Zemeckis, follows the inhabitants of a single house over the course of 100 years — allowing Hanks and Wright to portray teenagers and octogenarians across 105 minutes thanks to de-aging technology. Critics and audiences rejected the movie with a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and “B-” grade on CinemaScore. So, word-of-mouth may not help bolster attention for “Here” in its box office run. The movie cost $45 million and needs a long life in theaters to justify that price tag.

Hanks has been a massive big screen draw over the years,...

Aged action hero icon Liam Neeson saw his career change with the first Taken. The action thriller transformed the Oscar-nominated star of Schindler's List into one of the best-known action heroes of all time, and now, two of his biggest action sequels are available to stream for free.

Picking up where the first movie, which saw Neesons ex-Green Beret and CIA officer Bryan Mills rescuing his daughter from sex traffickers, both Taken 2 and Taken 3 can now be streamed for free courtesy of Tubi. The sequel, which hit our eyeballs back in 2012, finds Bryan in the crosshairs after he is targeted by the father of one of the men he killed while saving his daughter two years earlier. After punching, shooting, and delivering enough gruff monologues to get himself out of that one, Taken 3 finds Bryan once again in the crosshairs of the CIA, the FBI, and the...

While Liam Neeson is known for action movies, his latest release has been earning divisive reviews from critics. The actor has been active since 1976, but his rise to prominence came after he was cast in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). He was given the keys to his own franchise with Taken in 2008 and quickly became an action star. Throughout his distinguished career, the actor has earned an Academy Awards nomination, three Golden Globe nominations, and two Tony Awards nominations. He was even named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to acting.

Recent years have seen Neeson stumble, however. Though he has spent nearly two decades focusing on action movies, he is now 76 years old and is quickly aging out of the genre. Neeson plans to stop starring in action roles by the end of 2025, and he will likely take the opportunity to star in more dramatic roles.

An aging criminal with a terminal disease finds an unexpected romance while attempting to reconnect with the daughter he abandoned. Absolution has an unnamed Liam Neeson flexing acting muscles instead of his trigger finger in a plodding but genuine character study. The deeply wounded ensemble struggles to establish connections in a gritty, poverty-stricken setting that exploits the helpless. The narrative suffers from pacing issues, but delivers several gut-punch reveals. Audiences expecting an all-out action film are going to be surprised by the level of dramatic depth.

A Tough Enforcer with a Terminal Illness

2.5/5 Absolution (2024) RCrimeDramaThrillerMystery

An aging gangster, played by Liam Neeson, is determined to reconnect with his estranged children and atone for the mistakes of his violent past. However, the criminal underworld isn't ready to let him walk away, leading to a high-stakes confrontation where old loyalties are tested.

Release Date November 1, 2024Director Hans Petter MolandCast Liam Neeson, Ron Perlman,...

In Hans Petter Moland’s “Absolution,” Liam Neeson looks exhausted. His character has been beating people up for money for as long as he can remember, and here he is, at it again. The incessant drone of meaningless violence has taken its toll and now he’s just going through the motions. Unfortunately, it looks like Neeson has a similar problem: He’s trapped once again in tired tough guy material, bringing gravity to a film that’s already dragging him — and the audience — down.

Liam Neeson has had a fascinating career, and he’s spent a lot of it balancing mature dramas and action films. But in the last decade-and-a-half, the balance shifted and many of his roles are now aging tough guys on one last crusade, committing murders which also somehow save his broken family. Even the comedic parts usually play off his deadly dad persona: “Missile Tow,...

Liam Neeson recently said that he’s planning to retire from the action revenge genre that injected his career with a second life, starting with “Taken” back in 2008. Neeson was 55 when he shot that movie — old enough to play a hardened former CIA operative, ageless enough that we believed in his strength and speed and badass vigor. In the 16 years since, the Liam Neeson vigilante B-movie with attitude became its own genre. I’m one of many who look forward to these films and enjoy, in theory, their no-frills sadistic mayhem. But the truth is that Neeson, with his towering presence and sinewy resolve, is always better than the movies themselves.

In memory, most of them blur together, and it’s amazing how much they all still feel powered by that speech in “Taken” (“I can tell you I don’t have any money. But what I do have are...

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The great Liam Neeson speaks to MovieWeb's Julian Roman about his new film Absolution, where he takes on a different kind of persona (and one with a moustache). He also touches on taking over Leslie Nielsen's role from The Naked Gun in the new film. Absolution releases Nov. 1, 2024.

In Absolution, an ageing gangster tries to reconnect with his children and fix the mistakes from the past, but his criminal lifestyle soon threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.

Plot: An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won’t loosen their grip willingly.

Review: Over the last sixteen years, Liam Neeson has consistently delivered a string of variations on his 2008 hit Taken. Outside of a handful of exceptions, the Oscar-nominated actor has made movie after movie about cops and soldiers using their particular sets of skills to take down bad guys who underestimate the elderly protagonist. As those projects have begun to blur together, Neeson has had some tricks up his sleeve with voice work in The Lego Movie, comedic turns in A Million Ways To Die In The West, and the occasional big-budget offering. The ones that utilize Neeson’s gravitas and everyman demeanor have stood out from the over fifty projects he has acted on or voiced during that span. You can add Absolution to that shortlist.

Sixteen years after “Taken” made him the most improbable action star on the planet, Liam Neeson has finally announced that he’ll soon be retiring from the genre that made him famous all over again — a career move he plans to implement by the end of 2025. To judge by the latest of the fun(ish) but frequently disposable B pictures that the lanky Irishman has built into a one-man cottage industry, Neeson is stepping away from his schlock at just the right time.

It’s not that “Absolution” is any worse than the awful likes of “Retribution” (quite the opposite), but this seedy crime saga makes it uniquely clear that Neeson’s special set of skills have taken him as far as they can. While even the most forgettable of his Redbox specials (see: 2022’s “Memory”) have found their own special way to iterate on the “aging tough guy with...

As 72 years old, Liam Neeson continues to be a force in the world of cheap action thrillers. Every so often, he has a bit of a hit, something that breaks free of the generic formula and continues to prove why the septuagenarian continues to be a force. Absolution is one of those films that turns Neeson’s action proclivities and age into a solid film about looking back on your regrets.

Absolution Review

Directed by Hans Petter Moland from a script by Tony Gayton, Absolution follows Neeson as a drunk, deadbeat father desperately trying to reconnect with his family, who doesn’t want much of anything to do with him. We punch through sustained moments of reflection with a few bursts of action. It’s a strong balance of somber drama and thrills.

Our protagonist is unnamed, simply taking on the moniker of “Thug.” He’s the same type of...

In the new crime thriller Absolution, Liam Neeson plays an aging, low-level mob goon who tries to reconnect with his family while rapidly losing his memory because of brain trauma he sustained during his days as a boxer. It's a role that plays to Neeson's strengths his character is both gruff and sympathetic and there's no doubt the actor's time spent as an amateur boxer in his youth helped fuel his performance. While there are a couple of nifty action sequences in Absolution, it's another small step away from the nonstop action spectacle of the Taken franchise and toward the more lyrical, character-based thrillers that Neeson seems interested in these days. This is his second film this year, following In the Land of Saints and Sinners, and, if you saw that one, it's fair to say that it and Absolution are in the same ballpark in terms of story and tone.

Recently, Liam Neeson—who is 72 years old—has said that it’s time for him to step away from the world of action films. So, we should probably consider “Absolution” one of the last of its kind.

As seen in the trailer for “Absolution,” the film stars Neeson as a man who works as muscle for a crime boss. However, when he is faced with troubling medical news, he attempts to leave the world of crime behind so that he can reconnect with his young grandson.

Continue reading ‘Absolution’ Trailer: Liam Neeson Wants To Leave A Life Of Crime In New Thriller at The Playlist.

The holiday movie season may be getting off to a slow start over the next few weeks, but that’s not due to the lack of star power or Oscar hopefuls. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

What’s a little strange about this November kick-off weekend is that there are not one, not two, but three movies from filmmakers who have directed movies that won Best Picture at the Oscars. And yet, only one of them is getting a wide theatrical release and is bound to report box office.

That movie is “Here,” based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire. It reunites “Forrest Gump” director Robert Zemeckis with two of his stars, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, as well as Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth, for a unique family drama that essentially keeps the camera in place to show the events of a specific Philly location over time.

Oscar nominee Liam Neeson returns to the action thriller genre in Absolution, which finds the Taken star on wonderfully familiar ground as a formerly violent man seeking redemption. Several reviews for Absolution, which was previously titled Thug, have now emerged, so how does Neesons latest foray into action movies fare against the likes of the Taken series, The Marksman, and the rest?

Critics at Hollywood.com heaped praise on Absolution, declaring that the action thriller Delivers Intense Suspense and Redemption, and applauding the performances from Neeson, Frankie Shaw and Daniel Diemer.

Liam Neeson solidifies his status as a powerhouse in action cinema with Absolution. Fans eagerly await this film for its intense storyline and gripping sequences!

Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com highlights the mercilessly brooding atmosphere and praises Absolution for its exploration of Neesons wounded, aged gangster.

"Its not feel-good cinema, as Moland stays on the jagged edges of Thugs decisions and bruised nobility,...

While Liam Neeson has proven himself a master of action thrillers like Taken, his latest film Absolution seeks to tread newer ground. In this 2024 crime drama directed by Hans Petter Moland, Neeson stars as an aging Boston gangster named Thug who receives a terminal illness diagnosis. Facing his mortality, Thug attempts to make amends with his estranged daughter and right the wrongs of his criminal past.

Thug finds himself in an unfamiliar role—seeking redemption rather than violence. Absolution marks Neeson’s effort to blend his talents in action films with a more serious dramatic storyline exploring family, regret, and coming to terms with one’s mistakes.

However, balancing these tonal shifts proves challenging. While Neeson delivers a committed performance, Absolution never fully delivers the catharsis of his best action films or the emotional depth of a serious drama.

With Neeson’s magnetic screen presence anchoring the film, Absolution shows...

Sony will own the first weekend of November at the box office, with the second frame of the Culver City lot’s Venom: The Last Dance down around 60%, or $20 million, for No. 1, followed by the studio’s release of Miramax’s adult drama Here.

Here, which reps the Forrest Gump reteam of filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, scribe Eric Roth and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, is expected to do around $7M with an eye on hopefully pulling older adults out again this weekend after they made a date for Focus Features’ Conclave last weekend ($6.6M opening).

It remains to be seen whether Here slots in second place, giving Sony the frame’s 1-2 punch.

The question is whether audiences will go along with watching a generations drama story about various families on the same property/house at a skewed-degree angle. Hanks and Wright are technologically de-aged to their former 1980s/1990s selves,...

Although Liam Neeson knows how to demand a screen, no matter what’s on the page, his latest film Absolution feels like a retread of the same old deadbeat-dad-tries-to-redeem-himself-before-it’s-too-late plot, as the title might suggest.

In the Tony Gayton-written, Hans Petter Moland-directed crime thriller from Samuel Goldwyn Films, the Oscar nominee plays an aging Boston gangster who, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, attempts to make things right with his estranged daughter Daisy (Frankie Shaw) while rectifying his life of crime and trying to do some good before he bites the dust. Meanwhile, he has to convince his boss Mr. Conner (an underutilized Ron Perlman) that his mind isn’t slipping as he figures out who ordered a hit on him.

Taking a cue from Ryan Gosling’s Driver in Drive (or perhaps Mary Elizabeth Ellis’ Waitress in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Neeson’s character is known only as Thug.

“Absolution” is a new live-action ‘shoot-em-up’ criminal underworld feature, directed by Hans Petter Moland, starring Liam Neeson as a brooding, remorseful gangster, releasing November 1, 2024 in theaters:

“…a Pos ageing mobster, tries to reconnect with his children and fix his mistakes from the past…

“…but his effortless criminal lifestyle soon threatens to destroy everything he holds dear…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Venom: The Last Dance tenuously swings into theaters, but the symbiotes webbing breaks at the box office. The Tom Hardy-led sequel only manages to make an estimated $51 million domestically over its opening weekend (per The Numbers). Unfortunately, thats a franchise-low for director Kelly Marcels film. Both the original Venom ($80.3 million) and its follow-up, Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($90 million) far surpassed what The Last Dance was able to accomplish financially during its debut.

Fortunately, though, The Last Dance tangoed its way to a worldwide opening of $175 million thanks to the movies stellar performance overseas. Venoms final go-round with Hardys Eddie Brock (Hardy) brought in an incredible $124 million internationally to give the anti-hero a serious boost after the third installment in the symbiote saga struggled financially in the United States. Depending on the source, The Last Dance cost anywhere from $110 million to $120 million to produce not accounting for its advertising and marketing price tag.

As we slowly inch closer to 2025, more and more movies are being released, some after lengthy delays, while others entertain audiences right on schedule. Despite the increasing number of movies available on various streaming services, many viewers prefer to watch them in the theater on the big screen.

As a result, every month, audiences have a plethora of new, exciting films to look forward to, ranging from horror to historical epics. In October 2024, several fantastic films were released, such as Terrifier 3 and Smile 2, as well as disappointing films like Joker: Folie Deux. Similarly, we have numerous additional movies lined up for theaters the following month across all genres. With that in mind, these are the movies you can look forward to watching in theaters in November 2024.

Absolution Watch It in Theaters on November 1

Initially titled Thug, Absolution is an upcoming crime thriller film directed by Hans Peter Moland...

One of the great things about Liam Neeson is that, despite all his accolades (and massive box office pull), he’s never taken himself too seriously. Recently, we here at JoBlo got to experience that firsthand when discussing his latest movie, Absolution. While the full interview goes up next week, we had to highlight a hilarious chunk of the interview, where the star teased his upcoming Naked Gun reboot.

When we asked him if he could reveal anything to us about the highly anticipated comedy, he leaned forward and, in hilariously deadpan fashion, said, “It’s going to be very funny,” with Heavy hints of menace. Immediately breaking into a chuckle, Neeson was quick to praise his co-stars, Pamela Anderson and Danny Huston, and looks pretty excited about this potential new direction as he weighs retiring from action flicks.

It has to be said, as far as Hollywood tough guys go,...

Is Liam Neeson Retiring? Taken Actor’s Time as Action Star May Be Over - Main Image

From a Jedi Master in Star Wars to becoming Taken's legendary agent, Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson has become a household name in Hollywood. But is Liam Neeson retiring soon?

Considering his stellar roles in the past few decades, all good things must still come to an end someday. In this case, here's what Neeson has to say about his career's future.

Is Action Star Liam Neeson Retiring? What the Actor Recently Said

Best known for his 2008 government agent role in Taken, Liam Neeson barely had time to catch his breath as he went off to transform himself into an action icon.

Even in his 70s, Neeson has yet to take a pause from his butt-kicking time on-screen, some of which now requires help from his longtime stunt work collaborator Mark Vanselow.

Liam Neeson made a name for himself as an action star quite late in his career, and it seems that he is almost ready to close the book on that part of his life in the near future. Having delivered audience-pleasing performances in movies such as Taken, The Ice Road, and Cold Pursuit, fans should make the most of his latest movie, Absolution, as it could be one of his last action roles.

While Neeson spent many years dabbling in dramas and rom-coms, 2009 revenge thriller Taken changed all that forever, turning the Irish actor into a surprising action star overnight. In a new interview with People, he first recalled how something about that movie just registered with audiences. Neeson explained:

It just seemed to have touched something in the psychic nerve of moviegoing audiences.

Although his new movie sees him once again getting physical with bad guys, he has now...

Liam Neeson’s beloved run as an action movie star may be coming to an end next year. The Oscar nominee spoke to People magazine and teased his retirement from the genre that reignited the back half of his acting career. Neeson’s role in 2008’s “Taken” transformed him into an action icon, and he’s never stopped kicking butt on screen in the 16 years since. Even well into his 70s, Neeson continues to perform his own fight scenes with some help from longtime stunt collaborator Mark Vanselow.

“I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage,” Neeson told the publication. “You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”

While Neeson has not yet set a specific date for his last action movie role, he did say that it will likely be in 2025, adding: “Maybe the end of next year.

Liam Neeson has indicated that he intends to step away from action movies in the near future. Known for Schindler's List, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Love, Actually, and the Taken series, the actor has been a regular star of action thrillers in recent years. Neeson's next role has him playing an aging gangster in the upcoming crime thriller Absolution.

In a recent interview with People, Neeson doubled down on retiring from the action genre. He stated that with him turning 72, he had become aware of his limits and the limits audiences may have with his continued action roles, not wanting to reach a point where collaborator and stuntman Mark Vanselow was left to handle the majority of the work.

Im 72 it has to stop at some stage. You cant fool audiences. I dont want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.

As such, Neeson stated that he...

Liam Neeson has to be one of the busiest guys in the business. Next week sees the release of his crime drama, Absolution, in which he plays an aging mobster looking to make amends with his family before his time is up. Next summer, he’s got his remake of The Naked Gun coming out – which should (hopefully) allow him to branch out into comedy. But he’s also got a whole bunch of other action flicks set for release in 2025, including The Ice Road 2, Cold Storage, Hotel Tehran, and even more in the works. However, given that he recently turned seventy-two, Neeson is giving serious thought to slowing down, with him recently saying in an interview that he’s calling it quits pretty soon, stating, “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it.”

Now, it has to be said that this isn’t the first time Neeson has toyed with retirement.