Ever since scoring the breakout action-revenge film Taken in 2008, Liam Neeson has become Hollywood's preeminent geriatric action star. The 68-year old Irishman has made roughly a dozen or so revenge-thrillers in the dozen years since and continues the trend with Honest Thief, currently the number one film at the U.S. box-office.
Of course, Neeson began his career as a dramatic actor who eventually earned an Oscar nomination for his title role in Steven Spielberg's niche market of ultra-violent revenge pictures, and here are some of his most ruthlessly vindictive characters so far.
Ra's Al Ghul: Batman Begins (2005)
Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. Although Henri Ducard (Neeson) shows grace and kindness by training Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) to become a skilled assassin as Batman, his villainous ruse is revealed at the end to be far more vengeful than initially let on.
As the head of the League of Shadows, Al Ghul's vindictive nature comes to light when he reveals plans to taint Gotham's water supply and aerosolize Crane's narcotic and make the entire city hysterically chaotic. Writer David Goyer has once compared Al Ghul to Osama Bin Laden as a draconian villain.
Ottway: The Grey (2011)
In Joe Carnahan's action-thriller The Grey, Neeson's character Ottway takes revenge out on God and the laws of nature when forced into survival mode against a vicious wolfpack.
When six oilmen survive a plane crash in snowbound Alaska, they must do any and everything necessary to survive the inclement conditions. Ottway witnesses five of his friends slowly fall victim to a rabid pack of wolves, forcing him to make a stand and showdown with the predatory beasts.
Dr. Martin Harris: Unknown (2011)
In their first of four films made together, director Jaume Collet-Serra began perfecting the revenge formula in Unknown, the first collaboration between the two. The Hitchcockian thriller of a man's missing identity gives Neeson a perfect opportunity to exact revenge.
When biochemist Dr. Martin Harris and his wife arrive in Berlin for a medical conference, the former awakens from a coma following a car crash. When he comes to, his wife is missing, and another man has claimed his identity. As he works to regain his life, Harris gets back every goon in his way en route to discovering the truth.
Tom Carter: Honest Thief (2020)
While Honest Thief has more of a straightforward revenge plot. Directed by Mark Williams, the film finds a compromised bank robber hell-bent on serving just deserts to the FBI agents that double-crossed him.
Following a life of criminality, aging bank robber Tom Carter (Neeson) wants to call it quits and live the straight and narrow. When he turns himself into the authorities, he slowly learns those same authorities set him up. As such, he mounts a violent campaign of brutal comeuppance upon those who did him wrong.
Bill Marks: Non-Stop (2014)
In the second of four Neeson/Collet-Serra collaborations, Non-Stop finds undercover air marshall Bill Marks on a merciless payback mission when his flight is overrun by money-hungry terrorists.
Bill Marks has little to live for after the death of his daughter. The drunk former cop receives text message while serving onboard a flight as an air marshall. The messages come from a terrorist group demanding $150 million. If the money isn't paid before the flight lands, one enger will die every 20 minutes. Marks slowly uncover the culprits and treats them in kind.
Jimmy Conlon: Run All Night (2015)
The third and final t effort between Neeson and Collet-Serra and the last to make this list is Run All Night, another fun and formulaic action revenge-thriller in which mobster Jimmy Conlon (Neeson) must act swiftly in response to his son being threatened.
When ruthless gangster and assassin Conlon learns his son Mike is the target of a mob hit, he does what he can to protect him. Conlon's best friend and mob-boss Shawn (Ed Harris) wants Mike to pay for the death of his own son, leading to an intense showdown between Jimmy and Shawn.
Peyton Westlake: Darkman (1990)
Nearly two decades before assuming the mantle as the go-to action star of a generation, Neeson played the wickedly vengeful title role in Sam Raimi's Darkman.
Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is a gifted scientist who has recently concocted a method to create a synthetic skin grafting process. However, after 100 minutes of light exposure, a side-effect grotesquely destroys the skin. Determined to avenge the gangsters who lit him ablaze and left him for dead, Darkman assumes several disguises.
Michael Collins: Michael Collins (1996)
Neeson nabbed the second Golden Globe nod of his career for his starring role in Michael Collins, Neil Jordan's acclaimed historical drama.
Michael Collins was an instrumental Irish revolutionary who led a massive resistance against the UK in the 1920s. His vengeful, guerilla warfare tactics included such violent acts as car bombings, as well as organized assassinations. In the attempt to earn Irish independence, Collins' contributions helped lead to the Irish Free State.
Nels Coxman: Cold Pursuit (2019)
If revenge is a dish best served cold, then few Neeson examples are icier than his role as Nels Coxman in Cold Pursuit. Given the fact that he is avenging his dead son, he has all the murderous motivation in the world.
Nels is a humble snowplow driver in the Rocky Mountains. Having just been awarded "Citizen of the Year," Nels' demeanor does a one-eighty when his son is suddenly murdered by a drug cartel. As such, the rugged outdoorsman uses his skills as a mountain man to track, hunt, and vengefully kill those who took his son's life.
Bryan Mills: Taken Series (2008-2014)
Since the character kicked off Neeson's entire run as an unlikely action star and considering he's played the part thrice from 2008-2014, Bryan Mills from the Taken series is easily Liam Neeson's most vengeful character to date.
Bryan Mills has a particular set of skills that he will not hesitate to use if you cross him or his family. In Taken, his daughter was kidnapped. In Taken 2, Mills must rescue his kidnapped wife. In the third entry, Mills sets out to avenge the death of his wife. In all three films, Mills uses his deadly CIA training for vicious vindication.
