Liam Neeson emerged as an unlikely Hollywood action hero after his hit performance as Bryan Mills in the 2007 revenge thriller Taken.
Though Neeson had earned a name as a respected actor through films like Schindler’s List, Michael Collins and Kingdom of Heaven, Taken changed his career path in the direction of the action and thriller genre.
Ever since, he’s been known as one of Hollywood’s greatest tough-guy action heroes, which has defined most of his biggest roles to date.
Liam Neeson continues to perform well in different genres and has proven himself a talented deadpan comedy actor.
His performances since Taken have continued his reputation as a fan-favorite actor of the last decade, and his presence on the big screen has elevated some mediocre stories. Neeson has more than maintained his reputation as a brilliant actor, from action and comedy to period dramas and thrillers.
Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on April 6, 2024: Liam Neeson is officially set to star in a rebooted version of Naked Gun, which will begin production soon.
The film marks a significant change in pace for the actor, known for his action thrillers like Taken. With such a major departure from his typical genre, Neeson may be about to make one of his best films since committing to the action thriller genre.
15Memory Follows A Dangerous Assassin With Memory Loss
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2022
5.7
In 2022’s Memory, Liam Neeson plays another assassin character, Alex Lewis. When Lewis refuses to kill a child for his employer, Davana, he is forced to go on the run as she sends additional assassins after him.
Along the way, Lewis begins to struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease, losing fragments of his memory, including who he is and why people are hunting him down.
Despite its intriguing premise, Memory doesn’t always live up to all it could be. A pairing between Neeson and director Martin Campbell, who previously worked on Goldeneye and Casino Royale, should have been more than a forgettable action-thriller. Instead, audiences are left wishing for a film more like Taken or its two sequels.
14Men In Black: International Has Some Fun Moments
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2019
5.6
Men in Black: International is the long-awaited fourth installment of the Men in Black franchise. The film doesn’t feature Tommy Lee Jones or Will Smith, the stars of the original trilogy, but rather follows a pair of new agents, played by Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth.
Liam Neeson stars as High T, the head of MIB in the United Kingdom, who is eventually revealed to be the shapeshifting alien Hive.
Men in Black: International pales compared to its predecessors, killing the franchise immediately upon its release.
Nevertheless, the film has some good qualities, including a conniving performance from Liam Neeson, who is often typecast as the reluctant hero. Seeing Neeson unleash a new bad guy is always a treat, and MIB: International is no exception.
Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson recalls how he classified 2008’s Taken as a simple story that would become a straight-to-video film.
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2015
6.6
Run All Night follows Jimmy Conlon, a former enforcer for the Irish mob known as “The Gravedigger,” who has become a heavy drinker since leaving the violent criminal underworld behind.
However, he finds himself pulled back into this world when his son, played by Joel Kinnamon, is targeted by the Albanian mob.
Against his will, Jimmy is forced to rescue his son, foiling the Albanians and uncovering several corrupt police officers along the way.
Although Run All Night hits many of the same beats as Liam Neeson’s other action thrillers, the film is mostly entertaining all through.
It isn’t a movie that will blow fans away with its uniqueness, but it is certainly a solid watch for fans of the genre.
Moreover, with an impressive supporting cast that includes Ed Harris, Joel Kinnamon, Common, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Boyd Holbrook, Run All Night remains one of Neeson’s better films in recent memory, if not his best.
12The Commuter Followed a Bomb Plot on a Train
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2018
6.3
The Commuter followed the trend of casting Liam Neeson as an everyman who finds himself at the heart of a high-stakes crime story.
Neeson plays ex-cop Michael MacCauley, whose newfound life as an insurance salesman takes a turn when a passenger strong-arms him into locating a specific passenger, leading MacCauley to wonder what’s going on.
The film also gave viewers one of the better mysteries of Neeson’s career as they eagerly watched in real time to figure out the plot alongside MacCauley.
The Commuter (2018)
PG-14
Mystery
Thriller
WHERE TO WATCH
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An insurance salesman/ex-cop is caught up in a life-threatening conspiracy during his daily commute home.
Release DateJanuary 12, 2018
DirectorJaume Collet-Serra
CastLiam Neeson , Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson
Runtime1 Hour 44 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersByron Willinger , Philip de Blasi , Ryan Engle
Production CompanyStudioCanal, TF1 Films Production, The Picture Company
11Honest Thief Had a Crook Turn Into a Hero
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2020
6.0
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True to its name, Honest Thief tells the story of Tom Dolan, an infamous bank robber who decides to live an honest life and leave behind his criminal ways.
However, when he contacts two FBI agents to turn himself in, he narrowly avoids murder from the crooked agents, who plan to abscond with his cash and shut him up for good.
Honest Thief follows Dolan as he runs from corrupt and clean lawmen alike, desperate to prove his innocence of a crime for which the agents are framing him.
Reminiscent of the classic Clint Eastwood movie Absolute Power, the film is a great action/thriller for people who like seeing morally questionable characters on a redemption arc.
Honest Thief
PG-13
Thriller
WHERE TO WATCH
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Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.
Release DateOctober 16, 2020
DirectorMark Williams
CastLiam Neeson , Kate Walsh , Jai Courtney , Jeffrey Donovan
Runtime1 Hour 39 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersSteve Allrich
Production CompanySolution Entertainment Group, Ingenious Media, Zero Gravity Management
10The Grey Was an Intense Survival Story
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2011
6.7
The Grey follows Liam Neeson as Ottway, an expert hunter employed to protect oil workers from wolves in the isolated Alaskan wilderness.
When the group’s plane crashes on the way home, a few people are left to fend for themselves against the elements and an encroaching pack of wolves.
The Grey follows the group as they make their way through the freezing climate. They’re picked off one-by-one, leaving only Ottway to take on the wolves alone.
Inspired by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers’ short story “Ghost Walker,” the movie is an excellent story of grit as Ottway copes with loss, channeling his pain into his newfound need to survive.
The Grey
R
Adventure
Drama
WHERE TO WATCH
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After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
Release DateJanuary 27, 2012
DirectorJoe Carnahan
CastLiam Neeson , Dermot Mulroney , Frank Grillo
Runtime1 Hour 57 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersJoe Carnahan , Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Production CompanyOpen Road Films (II), Inferno Distribution, LD Entertainment
9Unknown Was a Mysterious Thriller of Lost Identity
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2011
6.8
Unknown follows Neeson as Martin Harris, a man who wakes up in a Berlin hospital after a car accident and believes that someone has stolen his identity.
The movie follows Martin as he sets out to prove that he is who he says, leaving audiences to wonder if his accident has left him confused or if something bigger is at play.
Unknown is a great movie for fans who love twist-heavy plots. It has one of the most underrated reveals of its decade. The movie keeps viewers guessing whether Harris is who he thinks he is as he conducts an amateur investigation into his identity.
Unknown
PG-13
Mystery
Thriller
When a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.
Release DateFebruary 18, 2011
DirectorJaume Collet-Serra
CastLiam Neeson , Diane Kruger , January Jones
Runtime1 Hour 53 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersOliver Butcher , Stephen Cornwell , Didier Van Cauwelaert
Production CompanyDark Castle Entertainment, Panda Productions Inc., Canal+
8Non-Stop Was Die Hard on a Plane
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2014
6.9
Netflix’s The Ice Road may star Liam Neeson, but his presence pails in comparison to the superior work he’s done in past action thrillers.
Non-Stop was the latest in a long line of movies that used the high-stakes confinement of a plane in flight as the setting for a good action story. Neeson plays an alcoholic Air Marshal named Bill Marks, who is pulled into a plot by anonymous killers to get them $150 million—or someone will die every twenty minutes.
Non-Stop effectively kept the identities of its villains anonymous for most of its runtime, instead playing on an atmosphere of paranoia as Marks was trapped in a cabin full of potential suspects. The plot was smart and well-planned, and the tight spaces of the plane made for a compelling setting for a whodunit.
Non-Stop
PG-13
Mystery
Thriller
An air marshal springs into action during a transatlantic flight after receiving a series of text messages demanding $150 million into an off-shore account, or someone will die every 20 minutes.
Release DateFebruary 28, 2014
Directorjaume collet-serra
CastLiam Neeson , Julianne Moore , Scoot McNairy
Runtime1 Hour 46 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersJohn W. Richardson , Christopher Roach , Ryan Engle
Production CompanyStudioCanal, Anton, Silver Pictures
7The A-Team Updated the Classic ’80s Action Show
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2010
6.7
Based on the classic action series of the same name, 2009’s The A-Team reinvented the story of John Hannibal Smith and his team of elite soldiers of fortune on the run from the military.
The movie takes place in modern-day Iraq, where the team is framed for involvement in the theft of US dollar printing plates. After their arrest, Smith stages a breakout with the help of a shady CIA operative, getting his team back together to clear their names.
The A-Team was by no means a perfect reboot of the classic show, but it was full of fun, and Neeson was the best choice for the role of Hannibal.
The movie is full of laughs, outrageous action sequences and a fun plot with an all-star cast that provides a fantastic origin for its team of heroes.
The A-Team
PG-13
Adventure
Crime
WHERE TO WATCH
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A group of Iraq War veterans look to clear their name with the U.S. Military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
Release DateJune 11, 2010
DirectorJoe Carnahan
CastLiam Neeson , Bradley Cooper , Sharlto Copley , Jessica Biel
Runtime1 Hour 57 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersJoe Carnahan , Brian Bloom , Skip Woods
Production CompanyTwentieth Century Fox, Dune Entertainment, Stephen J. Cannell Productions
6A Million Ways to Die In the West Cast Neeson as a Villainous Gunslinger
Release Year
IMDB
2014
6.1
Seth MacFarlane has established himself as one of the leading figures of scripted comedy in the modern entertainment industry through his signature creations, such as Family Guy, American Dad, and Ted.
In 2014, the writer/actor brought his talents to the Western genre through A Million Ways To Die in the West. The movie follows MacFarlane in the leading role of Albert, a small-town cowardly farmer who falls in love with a mysterious woman, Anna.
A Million Ways To Die In the West follows Albert and Anna as they prepare for a showdown with the latter’s murderous husband, Clinch (played by Neeson).
Though he didn’t have as much screen time in the movie as usual, Neeson played a brilliant villain and turned in a perfect deadpan performance.
A Million Ways to Die in the West
R
Western
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As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
Release DateMay 30, 2014
DirectorSeth MacFarlane
CastSeth MacFarlane , Charlize Theron , Liam Neeson , Amanda Seyfried
Runtime1 Hour 56 Minutes
Main GenreComedy
WritersSeth MacFarlane , Alec Sulkin , Wellesley Wild
Production CompanyBluegrass Films, Fuzzy Door Productions, Media Rights Capital (MRC)
5A Monster Calls Is A Heartfelt Coming Of Age Story
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2016
7.4
Based on Patrick Ness’s 2011 book of the same name, A Monster Calls is a coming-of-age drama about a twelve-year-old boy, Conor, who discovers that his mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Struggling to cope with this terrifying new reality, Conor is visited by a giant talking tree, voiced by Liam Neeson, who tells him a series of fantastical stories to help him through this difficult time.
Very different from Neeson’s other films since Taken, A Monster Calls is heartfelt and emotionally poignant. It deals with very serious and very real-life issues.
The film is both tragic and incredibly uplifting, showing the immense power that stories can have over people, especially children. It is one of Neeson’s best projects in the late years of his career.
A Monster Calls
PG-13
Adventure
Drama
Fantasy
DirectorJ.A. Bayona
Release DateJanuary 6, 2017
CastLewis MacDougall , Sigourney Weaver , Felicity Jones , Toby Kebbell
Runtime108 minutes
Main GenreAdventure
4Silence Cast Neeson In His Most Dramatic Role Since Schindler’s List
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2016
7.2
Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese’s historical drama is a mystifying and oddly unmoving exploration of spirituality and humanity.
Based on Shusaku Endo’s novel of the same name, Silence tells the story of two Jesuit priests who embark on a journey to Edo-period Japan to find their lost mentor, Cristovao Ferreira. In an era of extreme religious oppression in Japan, the priests searched for Ferreira following news that he had renounced his faith.
Silence is a slow, emotional drama that focuses on its many characters and what their faith means to them, as the Christian population of Japan is shown to be living in fear of an inquisition.
Neeson turned in his most dramatic role since playing Oscar Schindler, this time as a regretful priest assimilated into Japanese culture left to doubt the future of Christianity in the country. Meanwhile, the movie deals with the ethics behind the decision of one man to renounce his faith to save others and his internal struggle with faith.
Silence
R
History
WHERE TO WATCH
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In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Release DateJanuary 13, 2017
DirectorMartin Scorsese
CastAndrew Garfield , Adam Driver , Liam Neeson
Runtime2 Hours 41 Minutes
Main GenreDrama
WritersJay Cocks , Martin Scorsese , Shusaku Endo
Production CompanySharpSword Films, AI-Film, CatchPlay
3Cold Pursuit Is a Modern Day Fargo
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2019
6.2
Cold Pursuit was a surprisingly great movie released in 2019. It moved Neeson out of his standard action phase into a black comedy thriller in the style of Fargo. The film follows a snowplow operator, Nels Coxman, in the small town of Keyhoe, Colorado, who sets out on a mission of vengeance when a local drug dealer murders his son.
Cold Pursuit is a great revenge story presented to viewers as an artsy comedy, one that combines satire with Taken-style justice inflicted upon those responsible for the murder of Nels’ son. The film stands out as one of the best original movies of the 2010s despite having flown under the radar for most audiences.
Cold Pursuit
R
Comedy
Crime
WHERE TO WATCH
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A grieving snowplow driver seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son.
Release DateFebruary 8, 2019
DirectorHans Petter Moland
CastLiam Neeson , Laura Dern , Micheal Neeson
Runtime1 Hour 59 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersFrank Baldwin , Kim Fupz Aakeson
Production CompanySummit Entertainment, StudioCanal, MAS Production.
2A Walk Among the Tombstones is a Highlight in the Detective Movie Genre
Release Year
IMDB Rating
2014
6.5
Based on Lawrence Block’s classic thriller novel, A Walk Among the Tombstones stars Liam Neeson as ex-cop and private detective Matt Scudder. The movie follows Scudder as a local drug dealer hires him to find his kidnapped wife, who is being held for ransom, without involving the police.
A Walk Among the Tombstones is one of cinema’s greatest modern detective movies and channels the energy of the brilliant thrillers of the 1990s. Neeson turned in a brilliant performance as the recovering alcoholic detective as he forges an unlikely friendship with a boy who helps him track down the psychopathic kidnappers.
A Walk Among The Tombstones
R
Crime
Drama
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Release DateSeptember 19, 2014
DirectorScott Frank
CastLiam Neeson , Dan Stevens , David Harbour
Runtime1 Hour 54 Minutes
Main GenreAction
WritersLawrence Block , Scott Frank
Production Company1984 Private Defense Contractors, Cross Creek Pictures, Da Vinci Media Ventures
1In The Land Of Saints And Sinners Is A Thrilling Western
4
Actor Liam Neeson recounts almost accepting an offer to play the role of James Bond in the mid-90s and turning it down at his partner’s insistence.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners follows Liam Neeson’s Finbar Murphy, an ex-assassin trying to live a peaceful life as a pub owner in rural Ireland.
However, he finds himself pulled back into his old life against his will when a group of IRA terrorists seek asylum in his peaceful town.
Led by the ruthless Doireann McCann, the invaders force Finbar to take action, breaking his oath to himself to never again kill another human being.
While many of Neeson’s post-Taken action films have been rather bland, In the Land of Saints and Sinners does an excellent job weaving together its drama and action to leave audiences satisfied by the time the credits roll.
The dissonance between Finbar’s past and present gives Neeson more to work with as an actor than many of his previous films combined. Moreover, the film is bolstered by a chilling performance by Kerry Condon as the lead villain.
