But when you cast Joaquin Phoenix in the role, an actor who you can never be quite sure about in terms of the psychoses of his characters, things take on a different slant. Each one of his tortured flashbacks as he gets into deep water following an attempt to rescue a senator's daughter from a trafficking ring is horrifyingly credible. And despite the extensive and intensive violence committed along the way (purposely unglamorously shot), it's really just about a man going through the motions while being resigned to, and pretty much hoping to, die. It's simply quite the most compelling take on the genre for years and should be shown to Liam Neeson on a daily basis so he might finally just hang up his boots and go back to grown-up acting.
8/10
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