An average movie

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Liam Neeson and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about this movie when I started to watch it and, when I saw that it was taking place in the 70’s, in Northern Ireland, I was pleasantly surprised as I thought it would be finally something else than the usual tedious B action flicks that Neeson has been making during the last 15 years. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed fairly quickly. Indeed, I was fooled by the interesting historical setting but, after all, it still turned out to be another of his forgettable action features after all. Sure, it wasn’t the worst of the bunch but, all in all, it was still rather derivative and forgettable. For starters, Neeson was actually barely acting at all. Seriously, it felt like watching a ‘Taken’ installment in vintage Ireland as it was pretty much exactly the same character. Sure, Neeson is still seriously charismatic and therefore always watchable but, with such movies, he seems that he basically only shows up to cash his check. Even more annoying was how they handled his character. Indeed, in contrary to Bryan Mills or the other boring action characters he has played through the years, he was this time a hitman who killed possibly 100’s of men through the years. So, there was definitely something dark here which could have been explored but, no, instead, they displayed him as some harmless mild-mannered old man who should be left alone to enjoy his tight-knit community. Seriously?!? The plot was also poorly developed. Indeed, what was exactly the deal between Curtis June and this little girl? How come Finbar noticed that there was something wrong with her and not her mother? Seriously, it was just so half-baked and an excuse to get Finbar back in the game to fight these IRA members. At least, it was pretty cool to see again Jack Gleeson after all these years, especially since he said he would quit acting after his stint on ‘Game of Thrones’. On top of that, his character was by far the most (and only?) interesting character and he did deliver a solid performance. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was one of the better B action flicks starring Liam Neeson but, with this material, it could have been much better though. 

6/10