Retribution (2023 film)

Retribution is a 2023 action thriller film directed by Nimród Antal and written by Chris Salmanpour. The film stars Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz and Matthew Modine.[6] It is the third remake of the 2015 Spanish film El desconocido, which follows a brooding man (Neeson) who gets trapped in his car after receiving a threat that it will explode should he get out.

Retribution
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNimród Antal
Screenplay byChris Salmanpour
Based onEl desconocido
by Alberto Marini
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFlavio Labiano
Edited bySteven Mirkovich
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23) (France)
  • August 25, 2023 (2023-08-25) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes[2]
Countries
  • France
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[3]
Box office$16.5 million[4][5]

An international co-production of France, Germany, Spain and the United States, Retribution was released in France on August 23, 2023 by StudioCanal, and in the United States on August 25 by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Plot

Matt Turner works as a financier at Nanite Capital under his friend and CEO Anders Muller and lives with his wife, Heather, and two children, Emily and Zach, in Berlin. While driving his kids to school, Matt receives a call from an unknown number with a distorted voice who says that there is a bomb under his seat, which is already armed when Matt sits on it. The bomb is triggered by both pressure plates placed on all the seats and a radio frequency. He also threatens to detonate the bomb if Matt tries to get help. Matt finds the device and he is forced to follow the bomber’s instructions in order to keep them alive.

The bomber forces Matt to watch Sylvain, the latter’s client who is also receiving a bomb threat, being killed in an explosion when Sylvain’s panicked girlfriend attempts to escape. The bomber tells Matt to call Heather to retrieve €50,000 at his safety deposit box at the bank. After Heather retrieves it, the bomber changes the plan by telling her to give the money to the man in a blue suit. When she does, the police arrive and arrest the man.

After seeing the news implicating Matt for the bombing, Europol agent Angela Brickmann calls him, who tries to convince her of his innocence and orders the signal to be jammed. The bomber reveals to Matt that he and Anders have a €208 million slash fund from the clients deposited on Matt’s “emergency collateral account” in a bank in Dubai. He arranges Matt to meet Anders at the power plant. Arriving there, the bomber forces Matt to order Anders to liquidate his collateral account. Despite Anders reluctantly complying, the bomber orders Matt to kill Anders with a revolver in exchange for his life and his children. When Matt refuses, the bomber blows up Anders’s car; the shrapnel injures Emily’s leg.

After a police chase, Matt is eventually surrounded by them with Angela and Heather arriving at the scene. The bomb squad safely removes Zach and Emily, who is then treated for her injuries, after they realized that the pressure plate is only located under Matt’s seat. Interrogating Matt, Angela suspects the bombing might be related to the heist. After talking to Heather for the last time, Matt drives away and evades the police, determined to find the bomber by himself. Matt demands the bomber to meet him in person if he wants the money.

The bomber is revealed to be Anders all along. Anders reveals that he wanted to make Matt a fall guy for the series of bombings to cover up his scheme of embezzling €208 million wired into his crypto account. To end this, Matt deliberately crashes his car, causing it to cling on the side of a bridge. Matt unlocks his seat belt and falls into the river, allowing the bomb to activate and killing Anders. Angela and the police arrive at the scene, with Angela nodding at Matt before allowing him to walk free.

During the credits, the news reports state that the bombings were part of the heist perpetrated by Anders, and Matt cooperates with the Europol to resolve the incident.

Cast

Production

Retribution is an American, French, German and Spanish co-production by StudioCanal and Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures. It was shot mainly at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam and in the streets of Berlin, where the story takes place.[8][9]

Originally announced in 2017,[10] Neeson was confirmed to be starring in November 2020.[1][11][12][13] In May 2021, it was announced that Champion and Aspell were cast to portray the son and daughter respectively of Neeson's character.[14] In June 2021, it was announced that Modine, Davidtz and Moayed were cast in the film.[15] In July 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that Modine completed his scenes that were filmed in Germany.[16] The film's score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams.[17]

Release

In November 2022, Lionsgate Films acquired the distribution rights to the film for the United States, Canada and India from StudioCanal and The Picture Company, later collaborating with Roadside Attractions in the aforementioned territories and PVR Inox Pictures in India under a later deal to release the film.[18] The film was released in France on August 23, 2023, and was released in the United States on August 25, 2023.[6] It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and Ireleand on October 13, 2023.[19]

Home media

Retribution was released through premium video on demand in the United States on September 15, 2023.[20]

Reception

Box office

Retribution has grossed $6.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $16.5 million.[4][5]

In the United States and Canada, Retribution was released alongside Gran Turismo, The Hill, and Golda, and was projected to gross $2–3 million from 1,750 theaters in its opening weekend.[21] The film made $1.3 million on its first day, and went on to debut to $3.3 million, finishing eighth.[3]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 28% of 85 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Retribution may prove mildly diverting for hardcore fans of films depicting Liam Neeson as a parent in peril, but in most respects, this thriller is strictly standard stuff."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 43 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[23] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 54% overall positive score.[3]

In a mixed review for Vulture, Bilge Ebiri stated that "Neeson’s action movies often turn on his characters’ anxieties as a father and/or husband — sublimating his own tragic personal history into the realm of fictional motivation." and that, "Most of Retribution consists of three shots: a close-up of Matt, a close-up of his daughter, and a close-up of his son. But out of these simple building blocks and this nothing script, Antal extracts plenty of suspense and even emotion".[24]

Noel Murray, in the Los Angeles Times, found "The script is too flatly functional, weighed down by periodic info dumps where various people try to explain how Matt’s floundering business might connect to his current predicament.", adding that "Liam Neeson has done so many variations on the “angry dad” action hero that we can start dividing those movies into sub-genres." and that "While Retribution is far from Neeson’s best, it still mostly works, so long as you tune out the dialogue and focus on the hero’s twitchy face, waiting to see which will blow to smithereens first: his car or his patience".[25]

References
  1. John Hopewell; Elsa Keslassy (November 25, 2020). "Liam Neeson Action Thriller 'Retribution' Near Sells Out International for Studiocanal – AFM (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  2. "Retribution (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 28, 2023). "'Gran Turismo' Revs $17.4M, 'Barbie' $15.1M In Warner Bros & Sony Battle During National Cinema Day Weekend – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  4. "Retribution". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  5. "Retribution". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  6. Moser, Zachary (May 18, 2023). "Retribution: Cast, Story Details & Everything We Know About The Liam Neeson Movie". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  7. "Retribution". ❮ KinoCheck (in German). Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  8. Jana Haase (July 5, 2021). "Liam Neeson dreht in Babelsberg". Der Tagesspiegel Online. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  9. Mark Pittelkau (July 10, 2021). "Retribution in Berlin". Bild. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  10. Mike Fleming Jr. (May 9, 2017). "Liam Neeson To Star In Studiocanal's 'Retribution'". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  11. Ben Pearson (November 9, 2020). "'Retribution': Liam Neeson to Growl His Way Through a New Riff on 'Speed'". /Film. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  12. Jeff Sneider (November 9, 2020). "Liam Neeson to Star in Remake of 'Speed'-Like Spanish Thriller 'Retribution'". Collider. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  13. James White (November 9, 2020). "Liam Neeson On For Action Thriller Retribution". Empire. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  14. Anthony D'Alessandro (May 24, 2021). "Studiocanal Liam Neeson Thriller 'Retribution' Adds Jack Champion & Lilly Aspell". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  15. Anthony D'Alessandro (June 15, 2021). "Liam Neeson Studiocanal Thriller 'Retribution' Adds Matthew Modine, Embeth Davidtz & Arian Moayed". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  16. David Robb (July 30, 2021). "SAG-AFTRA Presidential Candidate Matthew Modine Says Union "Cannot Survive" Two More Years Of Current Leadership: Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021. He [Modine] responded on Thursday after returning from Germany, where he was on location filming Retribution with Liam Neeson.
  17. "Harry Gregson-Williams Scoring Nimrod Antal's 'Retribution'". FilmMusicReporter. June 7, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  18. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2022). "Lionsgate Gets 'Retribution', Wins North America, India Rights On Liam Neeson Thriller From Studiocanal & The Picture Company". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  19. Dalton, Ben (September 12, 2023). "UK-Ireland cinema release dates: latest updates for 2023". Screen Daily. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  20. Schreur, Brandon (September 13, 2023). "Retribution PVOD Release Date Set for Liam Neeson Thriller". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  21. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 22, 2023). "How 'Gran Turismo' Could Take The Checkered Flag At Weekend Box Office – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  22. "Retribution". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  23. "Retribution". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  24. Ebiri, Bilge (August 25, 2023). "Liam Neeson Is Stuck in a Car and All Is Right With the World". Vulture. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  25. Murray, Noel (August 25, 2023). "Review: Retribution straps Liam Neeson in for the same vehicle, durable if familiar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
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