Memory (2022 | USA | 114 minutes | Martin Campbell)

When I first saw a poster for the new Liam Neeson revenge movie Memory, I thought that it was the dumbest possible name because all of the negative headlines would write themselves. Multiple chuckleheads on Rotten Tomatoes would say something to the effect of “a movie called Memory sure isn’t very memorable.” It was one of the easier bets I’ve ever made with myself. 

But the hacks have a point. This isn’t a great movie, nor is it a memorable one. I reviewed the last Liam Neeson revenge thriller a few months ago and this movie is much better, but still far away from being “good.” The cast here for Memory is better, for example. Guy Pearce is the FBI agent/frenemy of Neeson’s Alex Lewis and Monica Bellucci is the villain Davana Sealman, a “legitimate” businesswoman who is able to keep her hands clean of atrocities committed at her behest. 

Memory is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game where Alex Lewis is a hired assassin whose latest job violates his moral code and he wants out. The people who initially hired him want him dead and the FBI is searching for them and him. The whole issue is complicated by Alex Lewis’s deteriorating memory. Someone might actually be getting too old for this shit.

But as an action movie and thriller, it’s tense and enjoyable, if often predictable. As a viewing experience, it’s fine. If you have time to waste or just really like watching movies where Liam Neeson is out for revenge/blood, you might enjoy this and already know what you’re getting into. 

I don’t need to watch Memory again and I do wonder just how much revenge a man pushing seventy needs. But for now, it appears Liam Neeson has gotten more revenge than he needs, but less than he wants. 

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Memory opens in theaters on Friday, April 29.