Liam Neeson is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, but how do Liam Neeson movies rank from worst to best? From prestige dramas, to iconic appearances in franchise epics, to his late-career resurgence as an action movie headliner, Neeson has proven himself the definition of versatility. Born in 1952 in Northern Ireland, Neeson began his career in 1976 with the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast, before transitioning to supporting roles in films throughout the 1980s. His 1993 breakout in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List kicked off a decade of success as the warm, soulful center to a whole bevy of epic dramas.
He's played a Jedi Master, voiced Aslan, and recently been enjoying a career third act almost entirely comprised of action thrillers, springboarded by his now-iconic turn in Taken. There's no doubt this actor has a "particular set of skills," from the warm, steely timbre of his voice, to the gentle wisdom that makes him such an ideal onscreen mentor, to the pure physical commitment that makes him so believable in any fight scene. Here are his major films, ranked from worst to best.
67 The Other Man (2008)
In this 2008 film, Liam Neeson plays a computer executive who finds out his wife (Laura Linney) has been having an affair with a handsome Italian man (Antonio Banderas) after she goes missing on a business trip. An inspired cast led by a prestigious director (The National Theatre's Richard Eyre) can't save this under-cooked, mystery from slipping into the realm of boredom. This was on of the Liam Neeson movies that was a box office flop, making just $1 million on a $15 million budget.
66 Under Suspicion (1991)
This twisting thriller sees Neeson as a private detective, who helps couples get divorces by photographing his wife having fake affairs with the husbands. It's a bizarre concept given a fairly rote treatment, but Neeson provides a solid anchor to the genre proceedings. However, the movie was a complete failure, making only $221,295 on a $6 million budget, while critics eviscerated it with a 25% Rotten Tomatoes score.
65 The Haunting (1999)
Shirley Jackson's haunting source material was recently given a splendid Netflix treatment, but back in 1999, Twister director Jan de Bont used it as a jumping-off point for a visual effects showcase that squandered its scares and its stars. Neeson stars with Owen Wilson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but they can't compete with the overblown spectacle of this horror film, which forgets that sometimes what's scariest is the unseen. However, it was a financial success, despite picking up five Razzie nominations.
64 Crossing The Line (1990)
Neeson plays a miner-turned-illegal-boxer in this self-serious, overwrought drama. He acquits himself well, particularly physically, but the film never manages to pack much of a punch. Based on the novel released in 1986, the movie remains mostly forgotten after getting a small U.K. release and mostly disappearing.
63 Blacklight (2022)
Director Mark Williams had big plans for his political thriller Blacklight. The movie wanted to show the underbelly of political corruption and actually made the head of the FBI the main villain of the movie. In this film, Liam Neeson was an off-the-records fixer for the FBI, often sent in to help undercover agents get out of sticky situations. However, when he learns the FBI Director has been killing rival political opponents for years, he sets out to take on the entire FBI to expose the corruption. The movie was a box office failure, and Blacklight received some of the worst reviews of Liam Neeson movies.
62 Battleship (2012)
Neeson is hardly in this Peter Berg movie. Perhaps his straight-faced, action movie swagger could've lent some much-needed charm to the movie, which was named after the classic board game. While Berg wanted to make a love letter to naval warfare, something dear to his heart, the addition of aliens seemed to help doom the movie. It did break $300 million, but thanks to its $200+ million production budget (via Box Office Mojo), it was a box office disappointment and went on to pick up six Razzie nominations.
61 Gun Shy (2000)
Maybe one of the most curious entries in Neeson's filmography is this dark comedy co-starring Sandra Bullock and Oliver Platt, which sees an undercover DEA agent joining therapy to cope with the stresses of his job. Unfortunately, the film's attempts at humor are largely crass, relying on fart humor and controversial jokes more than what can usually be expected from a Neeson vehicle.
60 After.Life (2009)
In this thriller, Christina Ricci plays a young woman who awakens after a car accident to find a mysterious mortician (played by Neeson) preparing her for burial. It's a novel setup, with lots of creepy potential, but unfortunately it's not too long before it becomes an underwhelming Saw imitation, trapping two interesting actors in typical horror genre roles.
59 Third Person (2013)
Paul Haggis, director of Crash, revisits his love of interconnected narratives with this glorified travelogue that synchronizes three tales of love, one at the beginning of a relationship, another at the middle, and the third at the end. There are some solid performances here, but the labyrinthine artifice of the enterprise winds up weighing it down.
58 Clash Of The Titans (2010)
This 2010 rehash of the groundbreaking and charming Desmond Davis and Ray Harryhausen original was Neeson's first post-Taken action film. Attempting to cash in on the public's obsession with fantasy visuals made popular by Avatar, Clash of the Titans only succeeds as a giant spectacle, a 3D CGI movie that not even Neeson's small turn as Zeus can elevate. However, it did make $493 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), before picking up two Razzie nominations.
57 A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014)
Seth McFarlane's overly-long, idiotic Western spoof makes Ted look like Citizen Kane. There are a few fun gags sprinkled throughout, as expected from the Family Guy funnyman, but most of them mistake blatant offensiveness for humor. That said, the best performance is Liam Neeson's, smartly cast as a villainous outlaw, playing it straight amid cartoonish surroundings. The movie picked up four Razzie nominations.
56 Taken 3 (2014)
There's a lot to not like about this one. Whether it's overly-edited action sequences clearly covering for the aging star or the film's cruelty toward its female characters, this is a disappointing sequel, and a far cry from the surprising fun of the original. The movie had negative critical reviews, but it was still a box office success, continuing the Taken movie franchises financial success. It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Thriller Movie.
55 Wrath Of The Titans (2012)
This sequel is made perhaps mildly more watchable by the simple fact that there's more of Liam Neeson's Zeus. His team-up with Ralph Fiennes, as Hades, is the high point of a movie that eventually ended the franchise in its tracks. The box office saw a steep drop, and the critics reviews were just as harsh the second time around for these Liam Neeson movies.
54 Honest Thief (2020)
Released in the midst of COVID, this Mark Williams actioner doesn't give much reason to leave the couch and brave a global pandemic to return to the movie theater. Neeson is solid as a bank robber attempting to return the stolen money for a light sentence, and there are fun villain turns from Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos. However, the film's action is underwhelming, although critics praised Neeson's performance in an otherwise familiar film.
53 The A-Team (2010)
The year before The A-Team, Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, and Sharlto Copley all popped in surprise hits. Cooper had Hangover, Neeson had Taken, and Copley had District 9. Therefore, it's no wonder 20th Century Fox wanted to cash in with a massive, balls-to-the-wall actioner starring all three. Alas, The A-Team is mostly a soulless remake of a classic TV show, handicapped by a PG-13 rating and a screenplay more focused on setting up a sequel than having any of its own fun. The movie didn't make enough at the box office to warrant a sequel.
52 Before And After (1996)
Liam Neeson stars with Meryl Streep in this story of a husband and wife dealing with the suspicion that their son was involved in the death of a local girl. As expected, the performances are first-rate, including Edward Furlong's as the son, but not even a smattering of late-game twists can help this from feeling like anything but a non-starter.
51 Memory (2022)
In 2022, Liam Neeson took a role in the mystery thriller Memory. In the movie, Neeson plays a hitman who has early-onset Alzheimer's but continues his work as a hired killer. He accomplishes this task, but when he learns his next target is a little girl, he refuses to go through with it. However, another hitman kills her and he ends up on the run, realizing his employers are planning his own elimination. Like several later era Liam Neeson movies, it had low box office totals and poor critical reviews.
50 The Nut Job (2014)
Liam Neeson may be most well-known as a prestigious dramatic actor-turned-action star, but one of the lesser Liam Neeson movies sees him voicing an evil raccoon in an animal caper about mob machinations among animals living in a local city park. Sometimes it can be nice to root for non-Pixar animated offerings, but this one gives little to champion. While the movie received mostly negative reviews, it was still a success at the box office, making $120.9 million against a $30 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). It also picked up a sequel and won the Audience Award for Best Children's Animation at the 2015 Anima: The Brussels Animation Film Festival.
49 Taken 2 (2012)
After the surprise hit that was its predecessor, Taken 2 sees Neeson returning as retired CIA agent Brian Mills, whose "particular set of skills" helped him rescue his daughter two years prior. Diehard fans of the franchise are sure to love this entry, but for everyone else, there's little more than an overblown rehash that would verge on goofy if it weren't for Neeson's committed performance. Despite its negative reviews, it was very successful at the box office and convinced the studio to make a third movie in the franchise.
48 Men In Black International (2019)
This follow-up from the original Men in Black series, which transitioned from inspired to lesser so over the course of three films. Liam Neeson is initially on hand as a Rip Torn replacement, but like the film's leads Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, he's completely wasted in a film that tries to copy the original's effortless charm. For his part, Neeson is part of the film's biggest twist in a movie that made $253 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), although it has marked the end of the franchise so far.