Veteran filmmaker Martin Campbell has apparently secured the lead cast for his forthcoming action thriller film ‘Memory’ starring Liam Neeson in the lead role. Neeson will reportedly be joined by ‘L.A. Confidential’ actor Guy Pearce along with ‘Spectre’ actress Monica Bellucci. Reportedly, the film’s shoot is already underway in Bulgaria.
Campbell had previously delivered a slew of slick films such as the mountain-adventure film ‘Vertical Limit’, action-comedy ‘The Mask of Zorro’ (starring Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas), conspiracy thriller ‘Edge of Darkness’ (starring Mel Gibson), and his most recent venture ‘The Foreigner’ (starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan).
Incidentally, Campbell is also credited with directing both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig’s debut James Bond films namely ‘Golden Eye’ and ‘Casino Royale’, respectively. Both these films rank amongst one of the best Bond films ever made.
Campbell’s upcoming film ‘Memory’ is reportedly based on the 2003 crime-thriller movie ‘The Memory of a Killer’, which in turn was based on the novel ‘De Zaak Alzheimer’ (The Alzheimer Case).
The film ostensibly follows an expert assassin (played by Liam Neeson), who himself becomes the target of a dangerous criminal organization after he refuses to complete a job. Also on his trail are FBI agents (Guy Pearce and Taj Atwal), Mexican intelligence liaison (Harold Torres) and a local tech-mogul (Monica Bellucci).
However, the catch is that Neeson’s character is struggling with severe memory loss, which makes a seemingly hackneyed premise interesting. And considering Campbell’s impressive filmography, his films can never be underestimated.
Apparently, the film’s thematic overtone is partially reminiscent of Christopher Nolan’s psychological thriller film ‘Memento’, which also featured Guy Pearce. In this neo-noir film, Pearce’s character suffered from short-term memory loss as the result of an injury.
With ‘Memory’, Liam Neeson’s tryst with the action-thriller film genre continues, after the actor reinvented his acting career by portraying retired CIA operative ‘Bryan Mills’ in Pierre Morel’s blockbuster film ‘Taken’.
Subsequently, Neeson was cast in numerous action films such as ‘The A-Team’ (co-starring Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley), ‘Unknown’, ‘Non-Stop’ (co-starring Julianne Moore), ‘Run All Night’ (co-starring Ed Harris) and ‘The Commuter’ (co-starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson).
Neeson’s Pre-Taken era of films include the World War-II biographical drama – the Oscar-winning film ‘Schindler’s List’, which was helmed by the legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg and in which Neeson had adeptly played the titular role.
Besides, Neeson also featured in acclaimed films like ‘Les Miserables’ (1998), ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999), ‘Gangs of New York’ (2002), ‘Love Actually’ (2003), ‘Kinsey’ (2004) and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’ (starring Christian Bale). Neeson will next be seen in another action-thriller ‘The Ice Road’, which is scheduled to release later this year.
While Martin Campbell will be making a comeback after a hiatus of more than three years with another assassin-based action-thriller film ‘The Asset’ (starring Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson). While Guy Pearce will next be seen in Michael B. Jordan’s revenge-thriller ‘Without Remorse’ and Kate Winslet’s television show ‘Mare of Easttown’.
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