Memory

It's rare that a Liam Neeson thriller gets my butt in a seat these days. I've skipped the last several because they've mostly become a blur of one another and the quality is more often than not, lacking. 

Yeah, there are the Taken's, but there are also the Tak3n's. And you have highlights like Non-Stop (among others). Then of course you have, on a tier all by itself, The Grey which continues to be one of the films that has stuck with me the most during my tenure of doing this. 

Memory intrigued me  not because of Neeson, but because Martin Campbell was involved. Responsible for classics like GoldenEye and Casino Royale, he's a name that has hits and misses, but when he hits...he knocks it out of the park.

Unfortunately, Memory is not one of those home runs, but instead another serviceable Neeson thriller. In his pantheon of same-ish films, this is probably near the upper middle because, unlike some of his worst ones, the filmmaking present is strong enough to warrant a watch and the dark material makes it unique and decidedly more R-rated than some of his others. 

When critiquing Memory, there's nothing inherently wrong/bad with it. On the other hand, there's nothing entirely showstopping either, so it's a hard movie to review because it's just a bunch of above-average/good "stuff". Perhaps a bit oddly, I found its mature themes and subject matter to be its biggest strength because it immediately creates tension, villains, and is around a timely topic. Without revealing too much of the plot, there's a lot of human trafficking going on around the Mexico-U.S. border and our story comes to a head in El Paso, Texas. Teenage girls are being trafficked for sex and the U.S. authorities are too slow to enact justice - not to mention there's a lot of money behind the people partaking in such sickening acts - so after a few plot-setting scenes, Neeson determines he will be the executor of justice (yes, my words are chosen strategically there). In some ways, it all feels as grimy and down in the muck as something like Breaking Bad (a good thing) and there's a real conflict and want for the "good guys" to win. 

Less successful are the elements around Neeson's onsetting Alzheimer's, which feels like at once a key plot point, then pushed to the background, then pushed back to the core story. In a lot of ways it feels unexplored here, and I was waiting for some Nolan-esque twist that never came, which is fine, but ultimately it kind of felt unnecessary. When that's the key hook of your movie that's titled "Memory", I'm not sure that's a good thing. 

"Liam, you're in an airport.
You can't hide behind corners like this..."

"I swear to God, I'll make T4ken
if you don't tell me what I want to know!!"

Our action elements - sometimes Campbell's best bits - are very minor here, likely due to Neeson's appearing age. He looks and feels old here, partly by design of the film yes, but also because he's been doing this a while. Aside from a small, very generic action sequence in a garage, there's not much else here outside of a few kills. Different than the lack of a twist, this is actually a bit disappointing given who's in the director chair and who's the main star. 

Otherwise however, what's here is a solid sub-2-hour thriller with a cast of a lot of (memorable) characters where I was consistently intrigued to see where it went and how it ended, even if certain elements were disappointing. Neeson gives his typical "gruff guy" performance with a nuance on the Alzheimer's and fear that comes with that. It's nice to see elements that are different from what he usually does here. Guy Pearce gives an out-of-nowhere great, anchoring performance as a FBI agent, passionate about delivering justice too. His Vincent Serra very subtly becomes the audience's main character and it's a good star vehicle for him too as much as Neeson. The supporting cast all do well in their roles (though some accents were...odd) and this is a film with a lot of moving pieces, almost akin to a TV show, which keeps things fresh.

Memory is probably worth waiting for instead of going to theaters, and I say that because there's far more original stuff that deserves your money in theaters right now like a non-Marvel multiverse of madness and a viking epic, just to name a couple. This Liam Neeson/Martin Campbell team-up is serviceable and sometimes good, but it can wait. 

CONS

• Lacking in action and what's here is stilted by Neeson's age (both character and himself)
• Whole angle on Alzheimer's seems to come and go with importance to plot
• Not all that memorable past the credits

PROS

• Good moviemaking and direction. This is certainly no crap-fest like Tak3n. In a lot of ways this feels like a lesser episode of Breaking Bad
• Mature material and R-rating help the film stand out and the plot to be instantly compelling
• Neeson and Pearce do great work with a strong (and large) supporting cast of interwoven characters
• Moves along at a brisk pace and < 2 hours was a good decision

Rath's Review Score | 6/10