Absolution (2024)

Liam Neeson’s character in Absolution is named Thug, which tells you how much the script trusts you to keep up. He’s an over-the-hill mobster and ex-boxer still doing jobs for mob boss Charlie Conner, played by Ron Perlman, while training Charlie’s inexperienced son Kyle. Then the memory slips start, and a doctor warns him CTE could turn into dementia within a couple of years. So Thug sets out to make amends, starting with his grown daughter Daisy, played by Frankie Shaw, who has no interest in a reunion, and her son Dre, who he takes to a boxing club. Neeson’s gruff, worn-down performance is the reason to watch. Almost everything around it crawls, and at 112 minutes it moves like a cargo ship backing into port. It turns violent late, and it’s for grown-ups only. It holds a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 4.3 because one strong, sad performance can’t drag this plot to the finish line. $2,642 says you spend the whole movie wondering if anyone in Thug’s life ever called him anything else.

What works: Neeson brings real weight to a man running out of time, and his gruff, tired presence carries the quieter family scenes.

What doesn’t: The pacing is sluggish from start to finish, and the crime plot is too thin to carry nearly two hours.

Who it’s for: Liam Neeson loyalists who prefer his quieter, sadder roles to the punch-first ones.