Liam Neesonhas been a dominant presence in the action genre for almost 20 years, but his latest movieIn the Land of Saints and Sinnershas finally broken the terrible streak ofRotten Tomatoesreviews from his last eight movie outings.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Despite reinventing himself as the next action hero inTakenback in 2008, Neeson’s last four years have not been the most impressive in terms of critical reviews. Although audiences have continued to love Neeson’s tough guy persona from movie to movie, his previous efforts have included a Tomatometer low of 11% for 2022’sBacklight(also the lowest of his career)and a high of 44% for 2021’sThe Ice Road. However, the Irishman’s latest offering has turned that around with a strong 81% approval rating, making it his first film since 2020 to get a “fresh” rating, and his highest rated movie since 2018’sOrdinary Love.
In the Land of Saints and Sinnerssees Neeson playing Finbar Murphy, a former assassin who attempts to leave behind his past by moving to a secluded, quiet Irish village. However, it does not take long for him to get in trouble, landing himself in the crosshairs of violent I.R.A. members.
Liam Neeson Movies
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
Ordinary Love (2019)
Men in Black International (2019)
Cold Pursuit (2019)
Made In Italy(2020)
Honest Thief(2020)
The Marksman(2021)
The Ice Road(2021)
Blacklight(2022)
Memory(2022)
Marlowe(2022)
Retribution(2023)
In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2024)
Liam Neeson is Preparing to Swap His Action Persona for a Comedy One
Liam Neeson may have gained a strong fandom through his action movies, but his upcoming project could be a completely new direction for the actor’s future roles.Neeson will take the lead in the reboot ofThe Naked Gun,with theLove Actuallystar stepping into the hapless shoes of Leslie Neilsen as the son of Lt. Frank Drebin.
Having been teased for several years, Neeson is set to start filming the comedy in May, with the movie having set a release date of August 05, 2025. Although Neeson is no stranger to comedy roles, having appeared in movies such asA Million Ways to Die in the West, MIB Internationaland, fleetingly, inTed 2, he recently revealed how nervous he is to get the movie right. He told MovieWeb:
“I’ve done a couple of, like, TV skits with Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais, but those were two minutes, three minutes tops. But I’m a bit nervous about Naked Gun, because it’s a feature film… If he tests it well, which I’m sure he will, Akiva Schafer is our writer-director. And there’s lots of funny gags, lots of funny visual gags happening at the same time while ‘serious things’ are being discussed, you know?”
WhileThe Naked Gunis certainly one of Neeson’s most anticipated upcoming projects, he has not turned his back on the action genre just yet, withThe Ice Road 2, Cold StorageandThe Riker’s Ghostjust some of his other upcoming “serious” offerings.
In the Land of Saints and Sinnersis out now.The Naked Gunwill debut on July 29, 2025.
7 Things All Liam Neeson Action Movies Have in Common
Here is why Liam Neeson’s action movies are so appealing to their target audience, even if they are so similar.
