Memory (Mini-Review)

Memory is another adaptation of De Zaak Alzheimer by Jef Geeraerts. Alex Lewis is an ageing assassin that wants to get out of the business due to his fading memory. He decides to complete one last mission before retiring but things go south when he refuses to kill one of his targets. His change of heart means that the people who hired him and the FBI are both after him. Making things even worse, Alex's memory goes away at the worst possible moments. Memory was released in 2022. It was directed by Martin Campbell. It stars Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, and Monica Bellucci.

I didn't bother looking up what this movie was about before seeing it. I love Liam Neeson so nothing would stop me from seeing this movie. I knew that it wasn't likely a Neeson action movie would be good but I love seeing them anyway. I would call them my guilty pleasures if I wasn't so open about liking them. How does this hold up to other Neeson action films? This is one of the weakest entries so if you don't like Liam Neeson, I would suggest avoiding this one.

My favorite part of the movie that made me burst out laughing was when the FBI is looking for Alex. Hugo Marquez went searching for Alex where the assassin was hiding and did the worst job looking known to man. So of course he doesn't find Alex and goes back to where his two partners are. He complains that the place he looked at was full of pigeon droppings. So how can this moment get even stupider? It turns out that the car Alex abandoned happened to have traces of pigeon droppings. Yep, the FBI found where Alex was hiding because I guess there's only one place in Texas that pigeons live.

The premise of an assassin having trouble surviving due to Alzheimer's is interesting. The majority of people that were in my showing were older so the premise probably connected to them. They might be about to develop it or know someone that already suffers from it. The problem with the premise is that Alex is able to go through the majority of the film without his Alzheimer's being a problem. There are only a few moments where it effects him that have any impact on the plot. So it's basically a premise that is wasted.

Alex is sent to Texas to kill two people. He doesn't mind killing his first target but the second one is a girl. He has a rule of never killing children and yet the people that hired him don't think he'll hold to that rule. Or maybe he has killed children before and hence made up the rule. Or maybe I'm giving the movie way too much credit. I mean...this is the same movie where the FBI could tell where Alex was because of pigeon droppings.

I would recommend Memory to those seeking an action movie with an interesting premise. I would also recommend Memory to fans of Liam Neeson.