Neeson's period of questionable choices continues. This is better than alot of what has gone recently before, however, with a surprisingly fleshed out cast including Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci. A remake of the Belgian film Memory of a Killer (2003), this is often tension-filled and sometimes even so far as satisfying.
As a contract-killer, Alex Lewis (Neeson), is getting a bit long in the tooth and with a brother currently enjoying full blown dementia, it comes as no surprise, but some concern, that his memory is starting to falter. Hence the decisions he makes and the jobs he completes become more and more risky. At this point in his life, he refuses to complete a contract at great cost to himself and here we see the consequences of this decision.
Neeson is, well, doing his usual thing, running about shooting bad guys, avenging innocents. You know, what his now familiar profile strokes his audience the most. Pearce, as a withered FBI agent, is a pleasing aside which demands more range and Bellucci, the representation of the evil puppet-master pulling the strings from a brutal, lofty, monied perspective.
It trots along at an acceptable pace and the direction isn't going to offend anyone any more than it will impress by its innovation. This is largely by-the-numbers and you will no doubt get exactly what you expect, but with slightly more quality and finesse than his more recent projects. It's a solid piece of action thriller, with an intriguing catch-me-if-you-can thread winding through it. If you've been put off Neeson's exploits because of repeated recent disappointment, then this is worth a viewing if only to bolster a little faith.
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