Retired, Not Dead

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2009)

Greetings again from the darkness. Was actually looking forward to seeing Liam Neeson in an action movie ... especially one written by Luc Besson. Unfortunately, just didn't find this very believable, though the basis for the story is frightening and fascinating.
Curious as to why 25 yr old Maggie Grace was cast as 17 yr old Kim. Aren't there any actresses available who actually look that age? Did enjoy the hyper-energetic, thrill seeking character of Amanda, played by David Cassidy's daughter Katie Cassidy.
One of my pet peeves in action movies is when the hero can scrunch his shoulders a bit and turn his head while successfully dodging automatic gunfire. Liam would have been killed a few times, especially in the car and on the yacht.
I did find Liam's character interesting because of his simmering passion toward the captors and those in his way. Reminded a bit of Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Still, for a dad digging into the underworld to rescue his daughter, I'll take Paul Schrader's 1979 "Hardcore" with George C Scott. While nowhere near the one-man demolition team that Neeson is, Scott really captures the disgust that a dad would feel.