Liam Neesonhas certainly had an interesting acting career, with his earliest roles being from more than 40 years ago at this point (seeExcalibur, where he wasone part of an impressive ensemble cast). He gained more recognition in the 1990s, especially thanks to an Oscar-nominated role (more on that in a bit), and then he became an unlikely action hero starting in the late 2000s.Takenwas probably the single movie most responsible for this, and then much of his 2010s work kind of chased the trend started there, and that did admittedly lead to Neeson starring in his fair share of stinkers. But hey, if you’re someone who’s been acting for decades, it’s probably an inevitability that you’ll be featured in at least a couple ofless-than-great movies during that time.
In any event, if he stopped being cool, he’s probably cool again now, thanks to a starring role in 2025’sThe Naked Gun, which sees him being a surprisingly good replacement forthe legendaryLeslie Nielsen, playing the son of Nielsen’s Lt. Frank Drebin. That movie was good, albeit not quite perfect, but there are a fair few close-to-perfect movies in Neeson’s filmography that can be considered masterpieces. You probably know what #1 is in advance, because what else is it going to be, but there might be a few other surprises here. In any event,these are the films that show Liam Neeson is more than just “that old guy who shoots a lot of people in some less-than-amazing action movies,“since he’s a more than capable – and enduring – comedic and dramatic actor, too.
5’Widows' (2018)
Well, okay, Liam Neeson isn’t inWidowsa great deal, butthere are a lot of people inWidows, so it’s understandable. After all, it’s not calledWidowers, so he is not one of the people referenced in the title, since it’s his death that makes his wife, played byViola Davis, a widow. But he remains a presence throughout the film in other ways, with the narrative involving his widow – plus the widows of the other people killed alongside him – having to carry out a heist because their thief husbands put them in hot water, effectively. That might sound a bit silly or far-fetched, butWidowsmakes this premise work, and it also has enough unexpected turns in the plot to keep things extra interesting as everything chugs along.
It’s a very efficiently written film, and one thatsticks to certain heist movie conventionswhile putting its own spin on others.There are too many great actors here, beyond Davis and Neeson, to mention them all, but everyone is great with the roles they’re given, and the characters themselves are all compelling. It’s also perhaps themost underrated movie thatSteve McQueenhas directedto date, ultimately being a worthy follow-up to the also excellent12 Years a Slave. But yeah, if you like twisty crime thrillers, heist movies, and Liam Neeson, thenWidowsis undeniably a must-watch, especially if you missed it when it first came out (it didn’t seem to make the biggest of splashes at the cinema, back in 2018, which is a shame).
4’Kingdom of Heaven' (2005)
It’s beenwell-documented that the theatrical versionofKingdom of Heavenis not all that great, beyond offeringsome impressive spectacle and battle sequences. So, consider its placement here – with the natural suggestion that it’s potentially masterful – as only including the director’s cut, which is the only version anyone watching it nowadays ought to seek out. It’s 45 minutes longer, which does mean the director’s cut ofKingdom of Heavenwill take you more than three hours to watch, but it’s well worth the time. What was a visually spectacular but narratively empty historical action film transforms into a true epic with the longer cut, since it still offers all the impressive war sequences, but backs them up with a story that makes more sense and hits harder emotionally/thematically.
Like in another epic from the 2000s,Gangs of New York, Liam Neeson is only inKingdom of Heavenfor a little while near the start, but he makes an impact with his limited screen time, and also plays a character who gets the whole story going.Orlando Bloom(sometimes unfairly criticized for his performancehere) plays the protagonist, with most ofKingdom of Heavenfollowing him as he gets involved in a conflict that, in turn, gave way to the Third Crusade.It’sRidley Scott making a historical movie, so it understandably gets pretty epic, and impresses… again, if you stick to that director’s cut, even if it does mean you might be watching for the better part of an afternoon.
3’The Mission' (1986)
Continuing on with another religious-themed movie,The Missionsees Liam Neeson playing another supporting role in something with a pretty epic scope. Also, likeKingdom of Heaven,Jeremy Ironsis also in this one, with Irons and Neeson actually getting to share some scenes here, unlike inKingdom of Heaven. Both play Jesuit priests who start a mission in the jungles of South America during the 17th century, withRobert De Niroplaying a mercenaryand slave trader who seeks penance for his misdeeds with the Jesuits. He becomes a Jesuit in time, and thereby gets wrapped up in an eventual conflict over the land that the mission is situated on, with Portuguese and Spanish forces posing a threat to the people living at said mission.
It’s not a fast-paced movie, even though there is a good deal of conflict and the stakes are high, but it hits when it needs to and also benefits from the slower pace at times. After all,a big reasonThe Missionworks so well is that it looks and sounds phenomenal (the latter thanks toone of Ennio Morricone’s very best scores), and so just being able to soak all of that in is worth a slower-paced story. It is a movie that deals with religion, first and foremost, but you don’t have to be religious to get something out of a movie likeThe Mission. It’s also a great historical drama, and a tremendously moving film that’s expertly made and extremely well-acted, too.
2’Silence' (2016)
Did you think the religious movies were about to stop getting mentioned? Oh no, you were wrong! For some reason, Liam Neeson has ended up in a ton of movies about faith, andSilenceis yet another one of them. He was also in the aforementionedGangs of New York, butSilenceis the Martin Scorsese filmwhere Neeson gets to shine the most, albeit he’s missing for a good chunk of the movie, owing to whatSilenceis actually about. Namely, it sees two Jesuit priests, played byAndrew GarfieldandAdam Driver, trying to track down their mentor, played by Neeson, who’s gone missing somewhere in Japan during the 17th century.
The acting here is phenomenal, and Silence is also visually striking, recreating a time in history very well.
So, it’s set beforeThe Mission, but came out 30 years afterThe Mission. Cinema is a time machine. Anyway,Silenceis another slow-paced filmthat is ultimately rewarding for those willing to give it the time needed. It sees Scorsese exploring religion once more, which is something that shows up time and again throughout his filmography, but not often placed at the center quite like it is inSilence(or, admittedly,The Last Temptation of Christ, which would make for a good double feature withSilence).The acting here is phenomenal, andSilenceis also visually striking,recreating a time in history very well while also having an oddly haunting atmosphere throughout. It’s a very powerful film, but it’s also powerful in quiet and oftentimes subtle ways, which makes it a little hard to approach, but those qualities do potentially mean it’s more likely to linger in one’s mind once it’s over.
1’Schindler’s List' (1993)
Schindler’s Listcan’t be considered a star-making role for Liam Neeson, since it was far from his first noteworthy movie, but it can be considered his most remarkable film, and the one that contains his single best performance, without a doubt. For as good as he’s been in a bunch of other great movies,he was at the center of a masterpiece here, and was a key reason why said masterpiece was so masterful.Schindler’s ListseesNeeson playingOskar Schindler, with the film taking place during World War II, and mostly focusing on the Holocaust. Schindler was someone with exceeding wealth at the time, andSchindler’s Listdepicts how he used that fortune to save many Jewish lives; people who were otherwise going to be sent to concentration camps.
There’s a difficult line walked bySchindler’s List, in terms of being upfront and unflinching when depicting the horrors of the Holocaust, but also in showing a small but impactful act of heroism that occurred within the overwhelming horror of that historical event.Steven Spielbergand everyone elseinvolved with the film’s writing and execution make it work somehow, withSchindler’s Listbeing harrowing and occasionally life-affirming, but doing the latter without getting sentimental or otherwise underselling the horror of it all. Co-starsRalph FiennesandBen Kingsleyare also excellent here, but Neeson really sells the titular role, and is required to do so much emotionally throughout the (lengthy) duration ofSchindler’s List. He’s incredible here in ways that he’s never really been in any other movies, but still,being able to go to these heights dramaticallyeven just the one time is something worth celebrating and appreciating.
