Memory (I) (2022) User Reviews

Actually not as bad as the usual 1 star reviews make out

[omendata · 6/10 · 28 May 2022]

Well after reading some of the bad reviews I had thought this was going to be another re-tread of Liam's last 5 disasters but this one is actually a fair bit better than most of his latest z-list efforts.

Good cast throughout, basic story, although Liam does look a bit past his best in this movie although he does have alzheimers in the movie; so perhaps it was just the makeup and it rattles along at a decent pace with some interesting moments to raise it above the usual average 5 stars so I am giving this one a fair above average 6 stars out of 10 this time round but as a big Liam fan he really does need to select better scripts otherwise he may well go down the Bruce Willis / Nicolas Cage / Ron Perlman route of great actors appearing in sub standard tosh!

Solid and bleak cop thriller. Yes, we have seen it all before, but this one is definitely not a B-movie.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 16 May 2022]

Solid, bleak and tough thriller. Why the low rating? I guess because it aint got a happy end. And Liam Neeson is playing a bad guy who has got vulnerabilities (Alzheimer). That doesnt gel well with many action movie fans, who mostly prefer to see a glorious upbeat ending.

Any bad? Liam Neeson is still a great actor, but he starts to look really old, but despite his age he still pulls it of to convince me that he is a cool, calm and collected hired gun (with a "good heart"). Really good acting performance!

The good: This is still a decent cop thriller. A former (great) James Bond director is directing it. And for petes sake, none other than the brilliant actor Guy Pearce is starring in it.

More good: there is enough tough action. The story keeps going. It's bleak. And real. And I didnt get bored for a second. This is simply another well made Liam Neeson action movie, with even some really good supporting actors.

Recommended for the fans of this "old tough man" genre. But remember, dont expect any originality.

This was rather enjoyable...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 20 May 2022]

Well, I have to say that Liam Neeson keeps pumping out good movies these past many recent years. So I have to say that when I sat down to watch "Memory" from writer Dario Scardapane and director Martin Campbell, I was harboring some expectations.

And "Memory" delivers. Yes, this is another coin in the piggybank movie from Liam Neeson. The storyline was nicely written, and it was more than just your average action thriller, because "Memory" gives you something to think about with its storyline, and also gives you some great characters.

The cast ensemble in "Memory" was good. Liam Neeson was just brilliant in this movie and this particular role, and I will say that it was refreshing to see him in a role such as this. The movie also have Guy Pearce, Taj Atwal, Harold Torres, Monica Bellucci and Ray Stevenson on the cast list among others. The entire cast pulled together and performed quite well all throughout the entire movie.

"Memory" is a very engaging action thriller, especially because writer Dario Scardapane immediately sweeps you up and takes you on a thrill-ride with lots of ups and down, and throws enough curveballs at you to keep you in the dark.

If you enjoy action thrillers and Liam Neeson, then "Memory" is a must-watch movie. I was genuinely entertained by this one. And I dare actually say that it is without a doubt one of the better movies with Liam Neeson, and that says a lot, because he has been putting out a lot of good movies over the past couple of years.

I can and will warmly recommend you sit down to watch "Memory".

My rating of "Memory" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

Underrated movie

[jindann · 7/10 · 21 May 2022]

Wasn't as bad as the unreliable rating suggests, the movie was actually quite interesting and original with some nice twists like liam's typical movies that has a rather different ending. The actions werent actually intense but was still intriguing enough to keep viewing, the acting were decent and the story was rather convincing but with some minor flaws. Again ignore the critics and imdbs phony ratings, a 6 to 6.5 is a more accurate rate for the film.

An improvement for Neeson

[benjaminskylerhill · 5/10 · 1 May 2022]

Memory is certainly an improvement over "The Marksman" and "Blacklight," as it does have more committed performances from Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce. Their resonant work makes this a breezily watchable experience.

There is also an attempt to take on its government corruption themes with a little more intelligence than lesser thrillers have shown in the past.

Unfortunately, none of this stops this film from being a largely dull, uninspired rehash of generic action movie plot points that have been done better in dozens of other, better movies.

The action sequences are almost completely bereft of thrills, just going for shot/reverse shot during shootouts and shoddy choreography during fights.

Each character is reduced to what they do for a living, not really having much of a personality or set of convictions beyond that.

Lastly, the "unreliable memory of the protagonist" concept is barely used in the story. It could have been used to create a mystery to the events that unfold and what is actually real, but it isn't. All the story's questions are provided with quick and easy answers, and it all results in a very disappointing story with no emotional or intellectual impact.

I ended up leaving the theater feeling nothing, because the movie just isn't bad enough nor good enough for anything to be felt or remembered.

At last a movie for Liam Neeson, regarding of his age

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 4 August 2022]

I guess Marty Campbell wished to do the same with Neeson as he did for Mel Gibson, back in 2010, with EDGE OF DARKNESS. Same kind of lead role, gloomy, desperate, so that's a perfect character for a more than aging actor as Liam Neeson. But EDGE OF DARKNESS was much better however, and Martin Campbell is maybe here not so dedicated or inspired as he probably was twelve years ago. The topic of the aging contract killer is not new anyway and it's then always difficult to create surprises, but the ending, though being not that surprising, remains worth watching the whole film. That's my opinion. And for once, Liam Neeson is nearly shown as a supporting character, because in this movie, there is no real lead one, and no one could deny that Neeson as here the most interesting role he had since a long time; nothing to do with SCHINDLER'S LIST however; I mean since he began his action movies, since TAKEN actually.

Liam Neeson strikes again....

[PerryAtTheMovies · 5/10 · 29 April 2022]

5.5/10

This was one of those movies that could've gone straight to home release and been more enjoyable. However, it goes to theatres and becomes a bit of a disappointment. The acting was mediocre, the story has a moment of strength then collapses, and it's just the same old plot with a slightly different twist.

The acting by Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce was good. I found that Neeson was stronger this time around compared to some of his other latest roles, and Pearce fit the role of FBI agent quite well. However, some of the major supporting just didn't seem to care at times. They lacked passion in the role or felt a little awkward.

The concept of the film was interesting. Guy is an assassin and taking on one last job until it interferes with his personal code. Then he turns around and begins killing those who've wronged him on the mission, but not without the difficulty of memory loss.

On paper it seems like a cool movie with cool characters and a relatively strong story that would be enjoyable. Until you watch it and the parts that tell the story are rushed and the parts that are fillers drag on and take more of the runtime. And honestly, the runtime already feels long at and hour and fifty-four minutes.

Overall, I was once again disappointed with a Liam Neeson film. The story lacks good visual representation and strong characters. I'd recommend waiting for this film to come out on a streaming service.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope it helps in your decision-making process of the film. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

What I do have, are a very particular set of skills, skills that I, darn, I forgot.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 7/10 · 2 June 2022]

Nothing revolutionary with this film, in fact, it's pretty much formulaic, predictable, and cliched of every action film Neeson has already done - hence the name Memory?, but poorly produced and lazily written, that it ends up as a B-film. Even the ending was cringeworthy and something I'd expect from a high school drama class. The few action scenes were decent, but lacked proper choreography and camera shots to give them any 'wow' factor. I don't even know why this film was made, we certainly have seen it all before, and much better. The 114 min runtime felt much longer - even with the decent pacing, due to much filler and little substance. Casting and performances were decent. It's a generous 7/10 from me.

He's back and better than ever. Even revenge never had it better.

[JohnDeSando · 29 April 2022]

"Justice comes down to him." From The Marksman

Vigilante revenge is riddled through American thriller films, and nobody does it better than Liam Neeson. In an interview, he believes audiences love seeing the big old guy kicking butt for the rest of us stuck home from covid, retirement, or whatever.

In Martin Campbell's Memory (the 78-year-old Casino Royale director like Neeson still has his mojo), he plays Alex Lewis, a contract killer telling his sponsors he's done, but they refuse to accept his offer. Because his current contract involves murdering a 13-year-old girl, Beatriz (Mia Sanchez), he's not going to do it, period! Per usual, Neeson's hardcore vigilante has his limits: Involving children is a non-no, and it's an immediate softener for the audience. Plus, such a code allows the essential Neeson to emerge-a good guy underneath his "special skills."

This refinement of past assignments, this surfacing of a standard that brooks no trafficking in young people, is a moral advance for an immoral assassin. The audience immediately sides with the hit man and shows no sympathy for the rich people doing the reprehensible trafficking. Memory's loaded with sympathy for Alex, especially when he connects with FBI agent Vincent, played by Guy Pearce (a nice touch as we remember him in that classic thriller, Memento). Both are tough men on the opposite sides of the law, who have a sympathetic side that ingratiates without sapping the tough guy the audience has always savored.

The strongest leitmotif is that of memory, or the lack thereof, so that the early-onset Alzheimer's plays a technical part of the plot and a thematic reminder that combating trafficking is going to involve memory, not just of the computer kind. One memory Alex never loses is the murder of young Beatriz, for whose violent end Alex was not responsible.

Along the way, this layered thriller comments on the limits of justice and the questionable answer of vigilantism. While the film leans toward the latter, so too does the stock Neeson character, whose sympathy we have when we see how free the bad boys and girls go.

They still need to be wary of old men with dementia-it's those hidden skills, Baby. "HIS MIND IS FADING. HIS CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR," says the memory poster.

Liam Neeson

[Q1oio · 5/10 · 30 April 2022]

I desperately hope I'd see a film starring Liam Neeson that is similar to "Taken" and I mean the first one, he could do so much better with his career, such a deep voice and an astonishing charisma.

What's with all the hate?

[lisaeveboden · 9/10 · 21 August 2022]

Ok, so unlike most of the reviewers here, I don't expect a film to be perfect. I expect it to be entertaining. Did this entertain me? Hell yes!

I'm a die hard action junkie. So anything like this gets my thumbs up. I think Liam is a bit past the action star roles now, he wouldn't have the strength to do half of this stuff in real life. But that being said, for an action film it's very entertaining and kept my attention. I don't read into it too much. I judge if it holds my focus and this did.

If you like Liam (Guy is great too) then go for it. Ignore the hate. It's great way to escape every day life.

Not bad, but a bit undercooked

[cardsrock · 6/10 · 2 December 2022]

I was pretty exited for this when I saw that the director of some of my favorite action films was teaming with Liam Neeson for a twisty thriller about a hitman with memory issues. Unfortunately, the unreliable narrator aspect is not really utilized to full effect here. I expected more twists and turns, but instead it's a mostly straightforward story. The story does have a little more heft than most action films though and also boasts a pretty loaded cast.

Neeson gives a fine performance of someone with Alzheimer's, however Guy Pearce is the real highlight here. Memory has some decent action and thrills, but ultimately doesn't quite reach its potential.

Liam is great as usual, as is Guy

[Janet1612 · 5/10 · 20 August 2022]

The blurb sounded great and it stars Liam. What could go wrong? By the end of the film I'd opened the book I'd been reading earlier and husband was falling asleep so we switched it off.

It started really well but then the story just seemed to fizzle out. Guy was great too - isn't he always? The actress playing the cop (Linda?) was dire and spoke so quickly she was unintelligible. We just didn't see the point of her being there. Maybe she was the token woman cop and her character an afterthought- she had nothing to add to film or script. Whatever she said we couldn't understand her.

The elderly actress playing the rich woman was so wooden! Surely there are better actresses out there.

Overall the film was hugely disappointing. Expected more of Liam.

Very good as far as Liam Neeson action thrillers go.

[b_kite · 7/10 · 22 August 2022]

As far as modern Liam Neeson action thrillers go this one is defiantly up there with the better ones. He plays an aging assassin who is tasked with a target who winds up being a young girl, he later discovers that the family that hired him runs a child prostitution ring, and the girl was a part of it. As expected, he goes after them, but with the catch he's slowly suffering from Alzheimer's. The final act takes a few twists and turns one wouldn't expect and the additions of Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci along with some solid gore defiantly help. The underlining theme of there's no justice for the rich is pretty good too.

it really WASn't bad, but...

[imizrahi2002 · 7/10 · 24 May 2022]

The woman...the real estate Queen who FINally gets killed at the end...who here thinks that she wouldn't have a Fort Knox security system and squad protecting her, 25/8, raise your hands... other than that it was decent...

Better than all the Taken productions

[jon-abbondanza · 23 May 2022]

Sure, not perfect, but compelling subject matter and a different premise made me thoroughly enjoy this Liam Nieson performance. Guy Pearce delivers as usual, and you will stay until the end, guaranteed.

Remember

[Draysan-Jennings · 5/10 · 21 May 2022]

When Liam Neeson starred in good films. What happened? His last 4 movies were terrible. Why is he working on straight to streaming low budget films? Is he strapped for cash? I don't get it. Pretty soon he'll be in movie a with Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal.

Liam With Alzheimers

[stevendbeard · 7/10 · 30 April 2022]

I saw Memory, starring Liam Neeson-The Marksman, A Million Ways to Die in the West; Guy Pearce-Bloodshot, Iron Man 3; Ray Stevenson-the Thor movies, The Book of Eli and Monica Bellucci-Spectre, Shoot 'Em Up.

This is a Liam Neeson action thriller that is a remake of a 2003 Belgian movie called 'The Memory of a Killer'. Liam plays a contract killer that is in the early stages of Alzheimers disease-his brother has it already-and his latest job includes killing a 13 year old girl. Liam draws the line at snuffing kids so he refuses, which gets his disgruntled employer, Monica, to send someone who will complete the job and kill Liam as a bonus. Guy plays the F. B. I. Agent that is on the hunt to try and stop all the killing and Ray is the local policeman wanting to do the same thing. The movie takes place in El Paso, Texas and Mexico and there are the usual who can you trust moments and a little twist at the end.

It's rated R for violence, bloody images and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 54 minutes.

I know some parts are predictable, but some are not and I enjoyed it enough that I would buy it on DVD.

fails the 20 min test

[A_Different_Drummer · 4/10 · 19 May 2022]

The late Roger Ebert had two tests for reviewing films. The first and better-known is to notice whether you are compelled to keep checking your watch toward the middle of a film. Not a good sign. The second test is whether, after the first 20 mins of a film, you have any interest in all in the story, or the characters? Twenty minutes into this film I was more interested in where those positive reviews came from (???) than the actual movie. At 70, Neeson is not only showing his age but the pitch of his voice is off, and the viewer has to strain to hear him. This is a common problem among seniors. I should know. I am one. Save your money.

More like a 6.5 but it is a typical Liam film

[bostonct · 7/10 · 29 April 2022]

Actually one of Liam's better films; reasonable good from the beginning to the end. Steady with a few peaks and valleys but the rest of the case does help round it all out and keeps things going. Better than his last one. Overall, given what is available now (kids, sci-fi, gory) this is a nice evening out.

Not memorable

[drjgardner · 3/10 · 12 May 2022]

I understand Neeson's POV. He's hot so he's making it while the sun shines. I guess Bruce Willis is his model. But it's us that suffer. FWIW - there is an old European film about a hitman with alzheimer and that film was great.

Surprisingly good.

[m-ramanan · 8/10 · 26 May 2022]

RATED 8/10 Language: English RECOMMENDED

decent action thriller with good story backdrop. The age old story and the remake is visible in most the places. Another Liam action flick, but this time it is bit more watchable. The killings are nicely shot and police investigative track also handled well.it is definitely one time watchable action flick.

Solid if slightly unfocused addition to Neeson's action resume

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 29 August 2022]

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

Alex Lewis (Liam Neeson) is a renowned assassin, known for his consummate professionalism. However, on his latest assignment, he finds his target is Beatriz (Mia Sanchez), a teenage child, and refuses to complete his mission. This makes him a loose end to be cleared up his employers, a sinister child sex trafficking gang headed by the evil Davana Sealman (Monica Belluci.) Detectives Cerra (Guy Pearce) and Amsted (Taj Atwal) go on his trail, observing his handiwork, but as he heads on a mission of retribution, Lewis finds his memory playing tricks on him.

Well well, another day, another Liam Neeson action adventure film, springing up on Amazon Prime like his previous feature, The Marksman. The man who proves middle age is no obstacle to middle ground, is back with a vengeance in this gritty, unflinching thriller from decorated director Martin Campbell. This is a director who proves adept at gleaming the best from Neeson, and making the most of his chiselled, grunting action man appeal. And while it's a somewhat imperfect ride, in the unremarkable field of Neeson's action back catalogue, it's definitely one of the more accomplished ones.

While it gradually evolves in to a raw, solid film of its own making, it catastrophically breaks the cardinal rule of an effective thriller, which states that a strong, eye grabbing opening is a must, and sadly this suffers from a messy, convoluted opening that requires patience to develop in to something really satisfying. But as it goes on, and the story gains a sense of direction and purpose, it becomes more dynamic and compelling, with some sharp, stylish action sequences and a dark, dismal backdrop.

In the hit and miss field of Neeson and his later life action escapades, this is certainly on the higher end of the scale, even if it springs from such shaky foundations, and probably won't form any Taken style franchise. ***

Kill me now

[grantb-816-905711 · 2/10 · 21 May 2022]

Oh my god, this is tediously slow and irritating, particularly the police investigation side of the story. The plot is all over the place and is made especially mind boggling by the fact that someone has cast a load of women that all look very similar. Gave up after 50 minutes and took some paracetamol. AVOID!

Very solid action thriller

[HorrorFan6969 · 7/10 · 3 May 2022]

I don't want to spoil anyone but I barely see trailers and I just saw 4 main actors I enjoy. Guy Pearce the true lead actor here with of course Liam Neeson doing a strong lead hit man here. Ray Stevenson and Monica belluci in minor but very important roles. But the one that shine the most is Guy Pearce. It's been a while I have seen him in a good role. He did a few B movies that were ok but here he truly give all on the role. If you enjoy Martin Campbell work like The November Man. You will enjoy a lot. Sure he did Bond movies. Here it's not and that's perfect that way.