Liam Neeson Could Become The Next Action Star

[Mitch Henessey]

The Grey has received its fair share of positive reviews, and so far, this film is having a successful run at the box office. The Grey is holding on to the #1 spot, and Liam Neeson did deliver another fine performance in this film.

Neeson's success in the action genre took off back in 2008, when Taken was released. Taken can be a considered a huge box office success, because this film was made for a mere $25,000,000, but it managed to pull in $226,830,568 with its overall worldwide gross. Unknown proved to be another very solid action/thriller, and Neeson's success has continued with The Grey.

Liam Neeson doesn't have the larger than life presence of an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, and he never portrays the cocky fast-talking Average Joe, who could kick your ass (Bruce Willis in the Die Hard films). Neeson usually portrays a smooth, fearless, and very intelligent character in his action films. Of course, he recently took a detour from this path. In The Grey, Neeson actually looks like an older man, who's struggling to survive. His character was willing to fight, but at the same time, he didn't try to hide his fears. Neeson wasn't the crafty and dangerous ex-soldier or spy in this film. He was a man, who had to struggle to stay alive, and as far as action films go, Neeson did bring something different to the table here.

The A-Team could be looked at as the one stain on Neeson's action resumé. Domestically, The A-Team was only able to pull in $77,222,099 at the box office. This sounds like a lot, but this film was made on a $110,000,000 budget, and this was an underachiever in the American market. But you really can't place all of the blame on Neeson for this. The A-Team was an ensemble adaption of the popular TV show, so this one didn't feature a true lead man.

Liam Neeson has been around for a while, he is a recognizable name in Hollywood, and his popularity as action star continues to rise. Also, he has seen success in the action genre before. Neeson was the star of Darkman (1990), and this one has become a cult favorite over the years. Neeson is also a former Oscar nominee, so you really can't question his credibility at all. Taken 2 could help him rise to the level of a true action star in Hollywood, because this film will surely become a box office hit. Neeson isn't there just yet, but the majority of his recent action films have brought in a nice amount of cash at the box office, and he has become a reliable and consistent actor in the action genre. Neeson is getting closer as the years pass by, and he does have a serious chance of becoming Hollywood's next popular action star.

What are your thoughts?

 

[¡Roján!]

I love Liam Neeson. He is without a doubt, my favourite current actor. He was flawless in Schindler's List, Michael Collins and various other movies he played a more serious role in. However, come 2000 the roles he took drastically changed. Despite being a stand-out in an awful Star Wars, he rather fell into obscurity until Batman Begins. In Batman Begins, he played the sick and demented Ra's al Ghul, and did have some awesome fight scenes with Christian Bale. Then, Taken came along. My, my, what a movie, huh? By far, it's one of my favourite action movies. Liam Neeson just plain kicked ass in that movie and it really changed my out-look on him as an actor. That was until, Clash of the Titans came along. God, I hated that movie and I almost felt betrayed at Neeson doing such a terrible movie. I sorta ignored him until Unknown. Unknown, a practically identical film to Taken wasn't exactly as good as it, but, it re-affirmed why I liked Neeson so much. The diversity of his acting repertoire is astounding, eh?

So, why am I telling you this? God knows, I just felt like typing up my Liam Neeson journey.

Anyway, back to the whole gist of the thread. I love the fact that he does action movies and is now looked at as an action star. He really is kick-ass in every way when he does an action movie. But, my only worry, like with Clash of the Titans, is that Neeson might tarnish his rather perfect legacy playing average action roles in poor movies. In the next year, he has 4 movies coming out.
Wrath of the Titans: I won't even bother checking it out, for Neeson, mine and humanity's sake.
Battleship: I really am interested in this one. It looks like an epic movie, if you get what I mean. Like Transformers 2, but good.
The Dark Knight Rises: I can barely wait anymore. It's the god-damn BATMAN! And, Liam Neeson is in it. For the second time. Sure, it may be a cameo, but it will make the movie all the more legendary.
Taken 2: WORDS. CAN'T. DESCRIBE.

Anyway, what's in common with all these movies? They're all action movies. So, it definitely does seem like that's the direction he is going to go in for the future. And, if he continues on the path, he probably can reach the status of such greats as Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, etc... As long as he doesn't go the Arnie route, and make 3 child movies for every 1 average to good movie, I'll be happy.

EDIT: Also, I can't wait to see the Grey. The trailer didn't really appeal to me, at all. But, with stellar reviews and many people saying the trailer isn't exactly indicative of the movie, I'm going to move oceans to watch it.