Absolution

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Absolution
Starring Liam Neeson, Daniel Diemer, Javier Molina, Ron Perlman
Directed by Hans Petter Moland

At 72 years old, Liam Neeson has established himself as this generation's Charles Bronson, an aged actor who keeps doing these low-budget action flicks that you find in the $5 bin at your local WalMart after a three-day theatrical release because no one wastes their time seeing it on the big screen - except for me, because I am an idiot. I never go in expecting to see something great, and to that end I guess I'm not disappointed, as "Absolution" was exactly what I expected it to be - a lower-tier action film that serves as Neeson's not-so-greatest-hits package.

When Thug (Liam Neeson) is diagnosed with an incurable disease, he sets out to make amends to his elder daughter Daisy (Frankie Shaw) who wants nothing to do with him, and learns he has a grandson as well. He still works as an enforcer for local gangster Charlie Connor (Ron Perlman) and his son Kyle (Daniel Diemer), and one day during a job he gets thrust into the world of human trafficking as he tries to save some women from being sold into sex slavery. Then someone is also out to kill him, plotting his death at every turn.

Yeah, essentially the script is a hodgepodge of ideas that never get fully flushed out, and at almost two hours it's a labor of hatred for sure. It's nowhere near as exciting as anything written down sounds, the film is filled with tired cliches and overbearing moments, and the scriptwriter could've even find the time to give names to characters, most notably Neeson's character who's only referred to as "Thug" (there's a woman he gets heavily involved with as well, who's name is...you guessed it..."Woman"). The movie bounces around like the writer had severe ADHD and just threw in whatever he had available in his mind at the time, making every moment painstaking to witness, and another blotch on Neeson's formerly impeccable resume. There's no absolution here, only eternal punishment.

The Score: D-

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