Of course there was no doubt about me having to sit down and watch this 2023 action crime thriller as it had Liam Neeson on the cast list. Sure, I had never even heard about the movie prior to watching it, not that it really mattered, as it was a Liam Neeson movie.
The storyline in "Retribution", as written by Alberto Marini and Christopher Salmanpour, sort of was very similar to the 1994 movie "Speed", except that it was lacking the high speed and adrenaline. It was watchable, for sure, but it was not a top notch movie for Liam Neeson. The storyline was a bit too much of a copy and paste of "Speed", except it was in a SUV and had a slightly different plot.
The acting performances in the movie were good, and while Liam Neeson didn't have a particular set of skills in "Retribution", then he still carried the movie well enough to make it a watchable movie. There are a couple of other familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Modine, and Jack Champion.
I found "Retribution" to be somewhat lacking in thrills and excitement, and the movie's plot and storyline was a tad too linear and predictable for my liking. Plus, the fact that if you've already seen "Speed", then you have essentially also already seen director Nimród Antal's "Retribution".
Watchable for what it was, "Retribution" didn't impress me, nor did it revolutionize the action crime thriller genre. In fact, it didn't bring anything new at all to the genre. And on that account, my rating of director Nimród Antal's "Retribution" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.
