Memory: release date, trailer and everything we know about the Liam Neeson movie

Liam Neeson in Memory
(Image credit: Briarcliff Entertainment)

Liam Neeson is back with an all new action movie, Memory. Following Blacklight, Memory will be the second action movie for Neeson in 2022, as he is living up to his declaration to Variety in 2017 that he wants to continue making action movies "until they bury me in the ground."

Here is everything you need to know about Memory.

When is the Memory release date?

Memory will debut on April 29 in the US. It will get an exclusive run in movie theaters when it comes out. Release details for the UK are not available at this time.

Liam Neeson fans are getting a lot of the actor in the first half of 2022, as Memory comes a little more than two months after Blacklight premiered (it currently is available via digital on-demand).

What is the Memory plot?

Memory is a remake of the 2003 Belgian movie The Memory of a Killer, which in turn was adapted from the novel De Zaak Alzheimer by Jef Geeraerts. Here is the official synopsis for Memory:

"Alex Lewis is a hired assassin at a turning point. Living in El Paso, Texas, and coming to grips with a faltering memory just as he plans to retire, Alex is ready to conclude a long career of violence and secrecy when an old contact gives him a final assignment. However, the job isn’t what Alex bargained for, and leads him into an FBI sting operation led by agent Vincent Serra. When Alex finds a trail of abuse leading from a child prostitution ring south of the border to a wealthy, influential El Paso real estate magnate and her son, Alex secretly guides Serra’s FBI team in the right direction. Though his inability to remember details is putting him in ever greater danger, Alex uses the skills he’s honed from a lifetime in the shadows to force ugliness into the light — but he has to do it before powerful forces destroy Alex and erase Serra’s mission to get at the truth."

Memory trailer

The Memory trailer is definitely playing the action angle of the story up more than the memory loss. Check it out right here: 

Liam Neeson in Memory

Liam Neeson takes on the lead role of Alex Lewis in Memory. Neeson told USA Today that he was attracted to the movie because of its "immersive, gritty storyline," while also getting an insight into things like dementia. "It allowed me an opportunity to research the tragic and mysterious conditions of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease," the actor said.

Despite being sent to turn 70 in 2022, the actor does not appear to be slowing down on heading up action movies. Following Memory, Neeson has Retribution, Marlowe, In the Land of Saints and Sinners and Charlie Johnson in the Flames all in the pipeline. There’s no indication as of right now as to when any of those movies will be coming out.

Of course, Neeson has had a long and varied career that includes him earning an Oscar nomination for Schindler’s List, as well as starring in movies like Rob Roy, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Taken, The Lego Movie and A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Who is in the Memory cast?

A trio of well known actors are set to join Neeson in Memory — Monica Bellucci, Ray Stevenson and Guy Pearce.

Bellucci, the well known Italian actress, is set to play Davana Sealman in the movie, the El Paso real estate magnate whose family is behind the sex trafficking ring. Most US audiences will likely know Bellucci from her roles in The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and Spectre, but she has also appeared in The Passion of the Christ, Mozart in the Jungle, Twin Peaks and Call My Agent.

Guy Pearce is playing FBI Agent Vincent Serra, who is tracking down Neeson’s Alex Lewis. Pearce was in Mare of Easttown in 2021, but the British actor is also known for Prometheus, Memento, LA Confidential, The Rover and The Proposition.

Ray Stevenson is on board as Detective Danny Mora. Stevenson is probably best known for playing Volstagg in Marvel’s Thor movies or from HBO’s Rome, but some of his other credits include Punisher: War Zone, Black Sails and Vikings. He also has a role in the upcoming Star Wars/Disney Plus original series, Ahsoka.

Others in the Memory cast include Stella Stocker, Taj Atwal, Josh Taylor, Ray Fearon and Harold Torres.

Who is the Memory director?

Martin Campbell is directing Memory. Campbell is well versed in the action genre, having directed two James Bond movies (GoldenEye and Casino Royale), the Antonio Banderas Zorro movies (The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro) and others like Vertical Limit and Edge of Darkness.

Campbell had been quiet for a lot for the 2010s, but Memory is going to be his second movie since 2021, having directed the Maggie Q action movie The Protégé.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.