(Photo by Open Roadt/courtesy Everett Collection)
After a major film debut with 1981’s Excalibur, Liam Neeson spent the rest of that swingin’ decade slowly climbing the acting ladder. (See him randomly in Krull, The Mission, The Dead Pool, and more, for example.) But after holding his own opposite Patrick Swayze in 1989’s Next of Kin, Neeson was at last upgraded to star for Sam Raimi’s dark superhero movie Darkman…where he spends most of the movie disfigured and fully covered in bandages. Still, Darkman was a financial success, especially for an original superhero IP in this era, and Neeson carried on with lending his baritone gravitas in dramas like the Certified Fresh Husbands and Wives.
In 1994, Neeson nabbed his only Oscar acting nomination with the monumental Schindler’s List, which would go on to win Best Picture for producer Steven Spielberg, who of course also got Best Director. Neeson took on another significant title historical role a few years later with Michael Collins, before entering the pop cultural fray as the decidedly unhistorical (though we suppose it depends on who you ask) Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. And after that, just into the 21st century, Neeson appeared in Gangs of New York, Kingdom of Heaven, and Batman Begins. A resume that includes working with Raimi, Spielberg, Allen, Lucas, Scorsese, Scott, and Nolan? Sounds like that’d be a career peak for most…
And yet 2008’s Taken was still to come, which would transform Neeson into the go-to mid-budget action guy, create a cottage industry of similar flicks to follow in its wake. Some were pretty good (Cold Pursuit, A Walk Among The Tombstones), others came out decent (The Commuter, Non-Stop), a few were god-awful (Taken 2, Taken 3), and some were one was amazing (The Grey). His latest, Blacklight, became the worst-reviewed movie of his career.
Now, we rank Liam Neeson movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 111506%
Critics Consensus: Schindler’s List blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg’s signature tender humanism to create the director’s dramatic masterpiece.
#2
Adjusted Score: 108141%
Critics Consensus: Boasting beautiful animation, a charming voice cast, laugh-a-minute gags, and a surprisingly thoughtful story, The Lego Movie is colorful fun for all ages.
#3
Adjusted Score: 98421%
Critics Consensus: Led by strong performances from Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson, Ordinary Love wrings heartrending drama out of one couple’s medical travails.
#4
Adjusted Score: 96338%
Critics Consensus: Husbands and Wives is a blistering, emotionally raw snapshot of two marriages self-destructing.
#5
Adjusted Score: 114863%
Critics Consensus: Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message – and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.
#6
Adjusted Score: 97773%
Critics Consensus: While not Miyazaki’s best film, Ponyo is a visually stunning fairy tale that’s a sweetly poetic treat for children of all ages.
#7
Adjusted Score: 96383%
Critics Consensus: A biopic of the sex researcher is hailed as adventurous, clever, and subversive, with fine performances by Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.
#8
Adjusted Score: 101800%
Critics Consensus: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs avoids anthology pitfalls with a consistent collection tied together by the Coen brothers’ signature blend of dark drama and black humor.
#9
Adjusted Score: 98548%
Critics Consensus: A Monster Calls deftly balances dark themes and fantastical elements to deliver an engrossing and uncommonly moving entry in the crowded coming-of-age genre.
#10
Adjusted Score: 96113%
Critics Consensus: Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.
#11
Adjusted Score: 96821%
Critics Consensus: Silence ends Martin Scorsese’s decades-long creative quest with a thoughtful, emotionally resonant look at spirituality and human nature that stands among the director’s finest works.
#12
Adjusted Score: 87907%
Critics Consensus: Gruesome and deliciously broad, Sam Raimi’s Darkman bears the haunted soulfulness of gothic tragedy while packing the stylistic verve of onomatopoeia springing off a comic strip page.
#13
Adjusted Score: 89765%
Critics Consensus: The Grey is an exciting tale of survival, populated with fleshed-out characters and a surprising philosophical agenda.
#14
Adjusted Score: 80967%
Critics Consensus: As impressively ambitious as it is satisfyingly impactful, Michael Collins honors its subject’s remarkable achievements with a magnetic performance from Liam Neeson in the title role.
#15
Adjusted Score: 76980%
Critics Consensus: Oliver Hirschbiegel’s dramatic take on “The Troubles” is an actor’s showcase — and Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt are more than up to the challenge.
#16
Adjusted Score: 83032%
Critics Consensus: With first-rate special effects and compelling storytelling, this adaptation stays faithful to its source material and will please moviegoers of all ages.
#17
Adjusted Score: 77035%
Critics Consensus: This intelligent, handsomely crafted adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel condenses the story’s developments without blunting its emotional impact.
#18
Adjusted Score: 80287%
Critics Consensus: Though flawed, the sprawling, messy Gangs of New York is redeemed by impressive production design and Day-Lewis’s electrifying performance.
#19
Adjusted Score: 81093%
Critics Consensus: John Boorman’s operatic, opulent take on the legend of King Arthur is visually remarkable, and features strong performances from an all-star lineup of British thespians.
#20
Adjusted Score: 74951%
Critics Consensus: Thanks in large part to its cast, and Anthony Hopkins in particular, The Bounty‘s retelling of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty is an intelligent, engaging adventure saga.
#21
Adjusted Score: 75722%
Critics Consensus: Rob Roy is an old-fashioned swashbuckler that benefits greatly from fine performances by Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, and Tim Roth.
#22
Adjusted Score: 77463%
Critics Consensus: Cold Pursuit delivers the action audiences expect from a Liam Neeson thriller — along with humor and a sophisticated streak that make this an uncommonly effective remake.
#23
Adjusted Score: 75437%
Critics Consensus: A Walk Among the Tombstones doesn’t entirely transcend its genre clichés, but it does offer Liam Neeson one of his more compelling roles in recent memory, and that’s often enough.
#24
Adjusted Score: 67888%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#25
Adjusted Score: 68323%
Critics Consensus: The Mission is a well-meaning epic given delicate heft by its sumptuous visuals and a standout score by Ennio Morricone, but its staid presentation never stirs an emotional investment in its characters.
#26
Adjusted Score: 73622%
Critics Consensus: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is an entertaining family adventure worthy of the standard set by its predecessor.
#27
Adjusted Score: 67681%
Critics Consensus: Kahlil Gibran’s the Prophet is a thrillingly lovely adaptation of the classic text, albeit one that doesn’t quite capture the magic of its source material.
#28
Adjusted Score: 72029%
Critics Consensus: A sugary tale overstuffed with too many stories. Still, the cast charms.
#29
Adjusted Score: 65219%
Critics Consensus: Steve Martin’s layered performance transcends the somewhat undercooked narrative of Leap of Faith.
#30
Adjusted Score: 65511%
Critics Consensus: A gripping drama even though the filmmakers have taken liberties with the facts.
#31
Adjusted Score: 66952%
Critics Consensus: Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise.
#32
Adjusted Score: 67856%
Critics Consensus: Liam Neeson is in typically fine form, but Run All Night suffers from a convoluted plot and workmanlike execution.
#33
Adjusted Score: 62120%
Critics Consensus: Well-acted if monotonous drama about a transvestite prostitute in London during the 1970s.
#34
Adjusted Score: 59030%
Critics Consensus: Despite a committed performance by Jodie Foster, Nell opts for ponderous melodrama instead of engaging with the ethical dilemmas of socializing its titular wild child.
#35
Adjusted Score: 58855%
Critics Consensus: A brutal, slow-moving drama that unfolds among some great-looking scenery.
#36
Adjusted Score: 66694%
Critics Consensus: The Commuter‘s cast is better than its workmanlike script – which helps make this reasonably diverting Liam Neeson action thriller worth the price of a matinee ticket or rental, if not a full-price ticket.
#37
Adjusted Score: 63112%
Critics Consensus: Liam Neeson elevates the proceedings considerably, but Unknown is ultimately too derivative — and implausible — to take advantage of its intriguing premise.
#38
Adjusted Score: 55419%
Critics Consensus: While it offers its fair share of violent thrills and tough wit, The Dead Pool ends the Dirty Harry series on an uninspired note.
#39
Adjusted Score: 64383%
Critics Consensus: Burdened by exposition and populated with stock characters, The Phantom Menace gets the Star Wars prequels off to a bumpy — albeit visually dazzling — start.
#40
Adjusted Score: 57130%
Critics Consensus: Despite its promising pedigree and a titillating premise, Chloe ultimately fails to deliver the heat — or the thrills — expected of a sexual thriller.
#41
Adjusted Score: 50021%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#42
Adjusted Score: 56571%
Critics Consensus: Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but their solid performances aren’t quite enough to compensate for The Next Three Days‘ uneven pace and implausible plot.
#43
Adjusted Score: 54307%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#44
Adjusted Score: 54390%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#45
Adjusted Score: 17915%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#46
Adjusted Score: 56471%
Critics Consensus: Its leisurely, businesslike pace won’t win the franchise many new fans, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader restores some of the Narnia franchise’s lost luster with strong performances and impressive special effects.
#47
Adjusted Score: 57799%
Critics Consensus: The A-Team assembles a top-rate cast only to ditch the show’s appealingly silly premise for explosive yet muddled blockbuster filmmaking.
#48
Adjusted Score: 48422%
Critics Consensus: Strong performances and a lovely setting are half the battle for Made in Italy — unfortunately, the other half is lost by a disappointingly slight story.
#49
Adjusted Score: 39547%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#50
Adjusted Score: 47880%
Critics Consensus: Liam Neeson remains a top-tier action hero; unfortunately, like a number of his recent genre outings, The Ice Road is a downhill trundle paved with predictability.
#51
Adjusted Score: 28225%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#52
Adjusted Score: 41715%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#53
Adjusted Score: 46798%
Critics Consensus: Guilty of first-degree squandering, Honest Thief returns Liam Neeson to late-period action thriller mode but neglects to supply much of a story.
#54
Adjusted Score: 40019%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#55
Adjusted Score: 46867%
Critics Consensus: Although it’s an objective and handsomely presented take on the Crusades, Kingdom of Heaven lacks depth.
#56
Adjusted Score: 42901%
Critics Consensus: The Marksman benefits from having Liam Neeson in the lead, but this formulaic action thriller should have aimed higher.
#57
Adjusted Score: 41634%
Critics Consensus: Mark Felt may dramatize the man behind Deep Throat, but its stodgy treatment of history offers little insight into the famous whistleblower.
#58
Adjusted Score: 44739%
Critics Consensus: It may offer energetic escapism for less demanding filmgoers, but Battleship is too loud, poorly written, and formulaic to justify its expense — and a lot less fun than its source material.
#59
Adjusted Score: 42891%
Critics Consensus: While it offers a few laughs and boasts a talented cast, Seth MacFarlane’s overlong, aimless A Million Ways to Die in the West is a disappointingly scattershot affair.
#60
Adjusted Score: 36999%
Critics Consensus: While nostalgic fans may view it through rose-Krullered glasses, this would-be sci-fi epic is painfully derivative.
#61
Adjusted Score: 32507%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#62
Adjusted Score: 31609%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#63
Adjusted Score: 33554%
Critics Consensus: 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.
#64
Adjusted Score: 33730%
Critics Consensus: A pale facsimile of better action thrillers by star Liam Neeson or director Martin Campbell, Memory proves to be one of their most forgettable efforts yet.
#65
Adjusted Score: 37847%
Critics Consensus: An obviously affectionate remake of the 1981 original, Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans doesn’t offer enough visual thrills to offset the deficiencies of its script.
#66
Adjusted Score: 32245%
Critics Consensus: Liam Neeson isn’t necessarily a bad fit for the classic character, but Marlowe fails to make a case for itself as either a worthwhile franchise extension or a fun mystery in its own right.
#67
Adjusted Score: 34022%
Critics Consensus: Its 3D effects are an improvement over its predecessor’s, but in nearly every other respect, Wrath of the Titans fails to improve upon the stilted acting, wooden dialogue, and chaos-driven plot of the franchise’s first installment.
#68
Adjusted Score: 26944%
Critics Consensus: A dark comedy of the low brow nature — filled with fart and gay jokes. Even Liam Neeson and Sandra Bullock cannot save this failure.
#69
Adjusted Score: 29293%
Critics Consensus: Third Person finds writer-director Paul Haggis working with a stellar cast and a worthy premise; unfortunately, he fails to fashion a consistently compelling movie out of the intriguing ingredients at his disposal.
#70
Adjusted Score: 25421%
Critics Consensus: It has an interesting premise and admirable ambitions, but After.Life fails to deliver enough twists or thrills to sustain its creepy atmosphere.
#71
Adjusted Score: 19732%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#72
Adjusted Score: 39771%
Critics Consensus: Amiable yet forgettable, MiB International grinds its stars’ substantial chemistry through the gears of a franchise running low on reasons to continue.
#73
Adjusted Score: 29868%
Critics Consensus: Taken 2 is largely bereft of the kinetic thrills — and surprises — that made the original a hit.
#74
Adjusted Score: 21760%
Critics Consensus: Sophisticated visual effects fail to offset awkward performances and an uneven script.
#75
Adjusted Score: 16698%
Critics Consensus: Despite the best efforts of a talented cast, The Other Man is talky, witless, and tension-free.
#76
Adjusted Score: 18340%
Critics Consensus: Hampered by toothless PG-13 action sequences, incoherent direction, and a hackneyed plot, Taken 3 serves as a clear signal that it’s well past time to retire this franchise.
#77
Adjusted Score: 17011%
Critics Consensus: Hampered by an unlikable central character and source material stretched too thin to cover its brief running time, The Nut Job will provoke an allergic reaction in all but the least demanding moviegoers.
#78
Adjusted Score: 16013%
Critics Consensus: Turn it off.