Memory (2022)

Alex Lewis (Liam Neeson) is an expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision. Caught in a moral quagmire, Alex refuses to complete a job that violates his code and must quickly hunt down and kill the people who hired him before they and FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) find him first. Alex is built for revenge but, with a memory that is beginning to falter, he is forced to question his every action, blurring the line between right and wrong.Memory is certainly an improvement over “The Marksman” and “Blacklight,” as it does have more committed performances from Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce. Their resonant work makes this a breezily watchable experience.There is also an attempt to take on its government corruption themes with a little more intelligence than lesser thrillers have shown in the past.Unfortunately, none of this stops this film from being a largely dull, uninspired rehash of generic action movie plot points that have been done better in dozens of other, better movies.The action sequences are almost completely bereft of thrills, just going for shot/reverse shot during shootouts and shoddy choreography during fights.Each character is reduced to what they do for a living, not really having much of a personality or set of convictions beyond that.Lastly, the “unreliable memory of the protagonist” concept is barely used in the story. It could have been used to create a mystery to the events that unfold and what is actually real, but it isn’t. All the story’s questions are provided with quick and easy answers, and it all results in a very disappointing story with no emotional or intellectual impact.I ended up leaving the theater feeling nothing, because the movie just isn’t bad enough nor good enough for anything to be felt or remembered.