The 7 Best Liam Neeson Movie Moments Ever

Best Liam Neeson Movie Moments

When Liam Neeson first starred as the man with a “very particular set of skills” he instantly became our action movie hero, a notion no one ever thought possible. True, prior to Taken, Neeson did have a number of action films including Darkman, Star Wars – The Phantom Menace, and Batman Begins. But it took Taken for the world to realize, hey, Liam Neeson has been in some wonderful films, and he has had some great moments in these movies.

Liam Neeson’s career is actually going into its fifth decade, so there are plenty of great moments to choose from. Here are seven of the best, how many have you seen?

7. Love Actually (2003) – Daniel's eulogy

Love Actually tells a multifaceted, interconnected story set around the Christmas holiday. One part of the story involves Liam Neeson’s Daniel, a man who just lost his wife to illness, and his stepson Sam. The two struggle with their relationship at first, but over time realize they need each other. In one pivotal scene, Daniel has to give the eulogy at his wife’s funeral. It is emotional and it is heartbreaking, but it shows the range that Neeson possesses.

6. Michael Collins (1996) – The Execution

One thing cannot be denied when it comes to Liam Neeson and that’s he can do biographical movies very well. In Michael Collins, Neeson portrays the title character, an early 20th-century Irish freedom fighter, trying to lead his country to independence from Britain. It is the climax shootout scene that is powerful and emotional. Collins is sent into an ambush which he valiantly tries to shoot his way out of, but in doing so is shot in the head, killing him instantly.

5. Taken (2008) – Bryan Mills' interrogation

In the action thriller Taken, Liam Neeson not only gets to talk about his “particular set of skills,” but he gets to show them off as well. After tracking down one of the men responsible for his daughter’s kidnapping, Neeson’s Bryan Mills uses his special interrogation technique to gain information about his daughters’ whereabouts. The captor is stubborn at first, but then Mills turns up the heat. It’s a brutal scene that makes you almost want to feel sorry for the man Mills is torturing. Almost.

4. Batman Begins (2005) – Ra's al Ghul's End

Batman Begins is the first of three Christopher Nolan Batman films that has Christian Bale playing the Dark Knight. Liam Neeson is Henri Ducard, who at first is Bruce Wayne’s mentor. But when Ducard reappears in Gotham City, he reveals that he actually is Ra’s al Ghul, hell-bent on destroying Gotham City. Only Batman stands in his way, leading to a memorable fight scene between Batman and Ra’s al Guhl atop a moving train.

3. The Grey (2011) – The Alpha Wolf

Liam Neeson plays John Ottway in The Grey, a sharpshooter who finds himself in Alaska protecting workers at an oil facility from grey wolf attacks. On their way flying back to Anchorage, the plane crashes into the frozen wilderness. Now, John and the survivors must fight off packs of hungry wolves while trying to reach safety. The climax is gripping as Ottway must face off with the Alpha Grey Wolf. It is an intense battle for survival with man versus beast.

2. Schindler's List (1993) – Oskar's Tears

As we mentioned earlier, Liam Neeson has a knack for portraying famous real-life figures. In Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist whose only concern during World War II is to keep making money. That is until he discovers the exact brutality of the Nazis. Throughout the war, Schindler saved thousands from death.

His powerful portrayal of Schindler comes to an emotional climax when Schindler breaks down after realizing that he could have saved many more lives than he did. The weight of his emotional breakdown is palpable.

1. Taken (2008) – Phone Call Speech

Taken tells the story of former CIA agent Bryan Mills, who is trying to settle into “retirement.” But his former life pulls him back in when his daughter, traveling in Europe with her best friend, ends up getting kidnapped by sex traffickers.

As Mills begins to use his particular set of skills, he delivers a bone-chilling threat over the phone to the man who took his daughter, ending it with his iconic line, “I will look for you, I will find you…and I will kill you.”