I Watch Films: Retribution (2023)

 

Retribution (2023)

Liam Neeson plays Matt Turner, an American businessman in Berlin. The investment firm seems to be on the verge of losing a customer, and he has to call him up right now. But he also needs to drive his kids to school on his way to work, this is the one day that his wife can’t do it. So he calls him from the car, we get to see his smooth sales pitch.

But then he gets a mysterious call from a mystery phone in the car. The caller claims to have put a bomb in the car, with pressure plates. And also he can blow it up at will. He proves it by sending him to a location, where there is another car with a client of his. They each think the other is behind it, then the other guy’s girlfriend gets out and it blows up.

The bomber moves him through several places, including getting Matt’s wife (at a divorce lawyer) to get money out their bank account, making Matt look more and more guilty. The caller knows about a slush fund of 208 million Euros in a Dubai bank. He wants it. He needs Matt’s codes. He confronts him with his business partner, who has entered his code, then blows up the business partner’s car.

The police are on the case, and Matt manages to get to a cell phone dead spot, and get the kids out of the car. Then he escapes to try and confront and turn the tables on the caller. It’s a high concept thriller, that wants to be taken seriously. And thanks to Neeson’s commitment to the role, it just about can be.

Watch This: Dark car-based bombing thriller
Don’t Watch This: If you’re involved in dubious high finance, this is one of the risks