When it comes to action movie stars of the 21st century, few actors have become as recognizable and synonymous with the genre asLiam Neeson. While not initially an action star, with his earliest breakout roles being the likes of war dramas such asMichael CollinsandSchindler’s List, the later years of his career have seen him revitalized as the old but capable action movie star.
He has played the leading role in countless action movies, especially films where he kicks serious ass and takes zero names while doing so. Few actors of his age have been able to surmount such a legacy in the physicality-based action genre so well, which has made his time in the spotlight all the more special. Neeson shows absolutely no signs of stopping on his streak of action movie roles, with it feeling as though there will be a new action film featuring him in the starring role released every year from now until the end of time. Even outside his most recognizable and well-known roles and films,he has made his mark on a number of exciting action filmsthroughout his filmography.
15’Memory' (2022)
Directed by Martin Campbell
InMemory, Neeson plays the role of Alex, an assassin-for-hire who has always been the go-to person for getting things done in the criminal underground. His situation changes after he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization, causing him to be on the run from his former employers and the FBI. While Alex has the skill and talent to be three steps ahead of anyone he’s going up against, he’s also struggling with chronic severe memory loss, so his greatest threat to his survival has become himself.
Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
InThe Ice Road, Liam Neeson plays the role of Mike McCann, a down-on-his-luck trucker who has been bouncing between gigs with his medically afflicted brother, Gurty. They soon get the opportunity to prove themselves in a last-minute impossible rescue mission where they must deliver the necessary equipment over a frozen ocean in order to save a group of trapped miners. The mission soon proves itself to be even more dangerous than expected, as they face off against the harsh conditions of the road, as well as possible sabotage from within.
The Ice Roadcombines a lot of the greatest attributes ofNeeson’s modern-day roles, playing a harsh yet capable blue-collar worker who goes through the worst of it for the sake of his family. This film features numerous different ways thatNeeson lets his screen presence shine, evolving from the tight-knit handling of harsh weather conditions up until he has to deal with hand-to-hand combat while driving his own truck.
The Ice Road
Watch on Netflix
13’Honest Thief' (2020)
Directed by Mark Williams
InHonest Thief, Liam Neeson plays the role of Tom Dolan, a notorious bank robber who has stolen over $14 million throughout his career but is willing to give it all back for a chance at a new life of love. However, in his attempts to turn himself in and give back all the money he’s stolen, a duo of corrupt police officers plan to steal the money for themselves, creating a massive target on their backs they never could have prepared for.
A major recurring theme in the characters that Neeson plays is their hardened past, yet a commitment to betterment in the present and motivated by higher moral values. These aspects are brought out to their fullest inHonest Thief, which transforms into a dangerous game of cat and mouse asNeeson does all in his power to make those who have wronged himgo through a living hell.
Honest Thief
Watch on Prime Video
12’Gun Shy' (2000)
Directed by Erik Blakeney
InGun Shy, Liam Neeson plays the role of a legendary undercover agent who has recently been dealing with complications in his work following a massive screw-up during his last mission. Now that he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he has to attempt to balance his current undercover operation with his new unstable therapy group and nurse Judy (played bySandra Bullock) to make it through the day.
Being a romantic comedy of the early 2000s and well before Neeson’s career shift into action,Gun Shyis much more focused on a lens of dark comedy and character chemistry throughout the cast. However,the film still makes sure to give Neeson a number of great badass moments, as he is still a legendary agent at the end of the day, and his presence comes through in the form of his amazing undercover skills.
Watch on Roku
11’Run All Night' (2015)
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Run All Nightsees Liam Neeson playing the role of Jimmy Conlon, a notorious Brooklyn mobster and hitman who has been the long-time best friend of a mob boss. Their friendship soon takes a turn south when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target for the mob, forcing Jimmy to choose between the crime family he chose or his real family that he abandoned. Jimmy and his son find that they only have one night to make sense of all the chaos and survive before it’s too late.
Neeson action movies are, for the most part, lone wolfsolo joints that rarely have him team up with a partner, yetRun All Nightis where this trend differs, as Neeson teams up withJoel Kinnamanon his never-ending goose chase. This allows Neeson to relay a number of important life lessons and fatherly virtues, contrasting perfectly with his cut-throat rampage against all those who attempt to take the duo down across the city.
Run All Night
Run All Night is a 2015 action click starring Liam Neeson alongside Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, and Vincent D’Onofrio. In the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed film, Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a mobster and hitman who must choose whether to be loyal to his best friend named Shawn or his estranged son, Mike.
Watch on Max
10’The Marksman' (2021)
Directed by Robert Lorenz
InThe Marksman, Neeson plays a settled-down and quiet rancher who has his life suddenly disturbed when a woman and her son attempt to cross the US/Mexico border to flee a Mexican cartel. After a dangerous shootout leaves the mother dead, it soon becomes up to Neeson to travel the boy across the country and protect him from the dangerous cartel in pursuit of them.
The premise ofThe Marksmanfeels as though it would lend itself more to being amodern-dayClint Eastwoodfilm, yetNeeson perfectly fits into the role and does a great deal of high-tension actionthroughout the film. What helpsThe Marksmanespecially stand out, however, is his genuine connection with the young boy, as his will and desire to protect him and his innocence evolves dynamically throughout the film.
The Marksman
Watch on Tubi
9’Non-Stop' (2014)
Non-Stopsees Liam Neeson as burned-out Air Marshal Bill Marks, who, on what is initially just another normal flight for him to snooze through, soon becomes the complete opposite of routine procedure. Neeson is shortly messaged during his flight from New York to London that a mysterious assailant is threatening to murder a passenger on the plane every 20 minutes unless they receive $150 million. As the last line of defense on the plane and thousands of feet in the air, Marks is the only person who can stop the bloodshed.
Enclosed spaces have always made for great set pieces and backdrops for action thrillers, and Neeson’s action works perfectly under the added pressures and strains of a commercial airline flight.Non-Stopgives Neeson a style of badassery less focused on having him take out as many goons as possible in a short window andhas him take charge and control the situation in a way only Neeson could.
8’Unknown' (2011)
Unknownsees Liam Neeson play the role of Dr. Martin Harris, a man who after waking up from a coma, comes to discover that a man has somehow taken his entire identity and life away from him. With his colleagues and even his wife not believing him or recognizing him, he soon goes on a quest in able to prove his own identity and solve the mystery at the center of it all.
Unknownis as equally about the high-stakes Neeson action as it is about the strange and bewildering mystery presented. While not initially as action-packed as one would assume, Neeson soon finds himself dealing with a surprisingly high number of capable assassins who are attempting to end his search before it even begins. This combination of action and mystery makesUnknownone of the most exhilarating and exciting filmsto come from Liam Neeson’s filmography.
Rent on Apple TV
7’Cold Pursuit' (2019)
Directed by Hans Petter Moland
InCold Pursuit, Liam Neeson plays the role of Nels Coxman, a quiet family man snowplow driver whose simple and secure life is completely upended following the murder of his teenage son. This begins a quest for revenge in Coxman as he climbs the ladder and murders all responsible for the death of his son, resulting in him going toe to toe with his small town’s notorious drug lord.
While from the premise alone,Cold Pursuitmay seem like just another Neeson revenge film, the tone and choices make the film more aligned with a dark comedy than that of a pure action thriller.Cold Pursuituses the notorious nature of Neeson and his previous roles to its advantage, as it uses his silent, lone-wolf demeanor combined with his uncanny ability to murder for a number of hilarious moments.The film has no shortage of standard Neeson badass moments,but it’s one of the few films in his repertoire that invites the audience to laugh alongside the chaos and absurdity of it all for once.
Cold Pursuit
6’Seraphim Falls' (2006)
Directed by David Von Ancken
InSeraphim Falls, Neeson plays the role of a former Civil War Colonel who, despite the war having long since ended, is still on a blood-soaked mission of vengeance against the man who wronged him, Gideon (played byPierce Brosnan). His path and struggle for revenge leads the duo into a relentless pursuit through snowy mountains, harsh deserts, and far away from civilization, with no end in sight until the deed is done.
Neeson has only ever been in a handful of Western films over his career, yet the genre fits his stylings as an actor perfectly, between his rugged done and unfathomable rage that can be unleashed.Seraphim Fallstakes full advantage of its great dual leads,providing both Neeson and Brosnan with a number ofgreat action moments in the filmas the duo are constantly at odds with one another.
Seraphim Falls
After the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.
