‘Memory’ Review
Stars: Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, Taj Atwal, Ray Fearon, Harold Torres, Ray Stevenson | Written by Dario Scardapane | Directed by Martin Campbell
Liam Neeson plays a rogue hitman with Alzheimer’s in this remake of the 2003 Belgian action thriller Memory of a Killer. Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Legend of Zorro), it’s a cut above the usual standard of Taken knock-offs.
Liam Neeson has built himself an entire sub-genre of thrillers since the success of Taken in 2010. Often referred to, somewhat cheekily, as the “geri-action” genre, the films all have the same thing in common – grizzled, 60-something Liam Neeson taking out lots of bad guys in as violent a manner as possible.
When Memory begins, it’s very much business as usual for this sort of film. Neeson plays no-nonsense hitman Alex Lewis, who we first meet taking out a shady-looking character in a hospital with ruthless efficiency and a hint of cruelty, given that he does it in front of the guy’s bedridden mother. However, it quickly becomes apparent that all is not well for Alex, because he has a moment where he can’t remember where he put his car keys, and sure enough, it turns out he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Knowing he doesn’t have long before he loses his faculties completely, Alex tries to bow out of the hitman game, but his handler Mauricio (Lee Boardman) isn’t having any of it, insisting that he takes on two more jobs. However, when one of the targets turns out to be a 13 year old girl (Mia Sanchez as Beatriz), Alex backs out of the job, knowing that will put a target on his back as far as his employers are concerned.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) is getting closer to uncovering those responsible for the sex trafficking ring that put Beatriz in danger. And when Vincent crosses paths with Alex, he realises they might be able to help each other.
Neeson can do this sort of thing in his sleep, but he goes the extra mile here, managing to convince, despite the borderline preposterous plot. He even manages to find a note of sympathy for Alex, who’s still a cold-blooded murderer, despite drawing the line at killing a child.
The supporting cast is packed with so many characters that it’s almost comical. The stand-outs include Pearce (whose presence invokes Memento, one of the all-time-great memory thrillers), Taj Atwal as Vincent’s FBI partner Linda, Harold Torres as a driven Mexican cop and Ray Stevenson as a grumpy El Paso detective. There’s also a nice surprise when Monica Bellucci shows up after about half an hour, playing a ruthless real estate mogul who’s obsessed with looking young.
Campbell has always been one of cinema’s best action directors and he doesn’t disappoint here – there are no big set-pieces in Memory, but the fight scenes are fast, thrilling and satisfying, not least in a scene where Neeson casually takes out a drunk bothering a woman in a bar. Similarly, Campbell makes some interesting framing choices on scenes that would otherwise be overly familiar (e.g. a car blowing up) and has fun staging some of Neeson’s hits, most notably in a scene set in a gym.
Memory‘s most interesting element is that it frequently wrong-foots the audience – the ending, in particular, doesn’t play out the way you expect. There’s also a downbeat quality and a cynicism to the film that works well, making it stand out from the usual straight-to-streaming nonsense in the action thriller department. Worth seeing.
