Liam Neeson is seeking “Absolution.”
It’s the title of his latest movie, but also a good word after Neeson has appeared in 11 movies in the last four years. Almost no one has seen any of them. One didn’t even get US distribution.
“Absolution” follows “Retribution,” but “Distribution” would be a good title for third chapter. “Absolution” sounds like a lot of the others: “An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won’t loosen their grip willingly.”
What happened to Liam Neeson? He was an Oscar nominee for “Schindler’s List.” He was a considered A list, and even appeared in a couple of hot Broadway plays. But much of his career has been spent making strange choices that have resulted in no box office. He hasn’t even really capitalized on his performances as Qui-Gon Jinn in “Star Wars” movies.
It’s a head scratcher.
So now Liam is streaming in “Absolution,” which has been playing in 1,900 theaters since November 1st although no one has ever mentioned it. Total box office is around $2.7 million. The Rotten Tomatoes number is 52%, which could be worse. The RT audience score was 32%, which is worse!
Next up Liam is a remake of “The Naked Gun,” in which I guess he’ll send himself up a la Leslie Nielsen in the classic original. But why isn’t he making big movies with great directors? Very weird.
