Nimród Antal’s film is another intense action thriller that stars Liam Neeson as its protagonist. Produced by France, Germany, Spain & the United States, Retribution made it to theatres by August 2023. Since we’ll discuss Retribution’s ending, this is your spoiler warning.
This 91-minute-long movie centers on Matt Turner, a financier based in Berlin who discovers a bomb has been fixed in his car. Now stuck in the vehicle with his two kids, Emily and Zach, Matt tries to figure out who the mastermind behind the plan is and finds a way to escape without triggering the bomb.
Aside from Liam Neeson in the role of Matt Turner, the rest of the cast of Retribution 2023 consists of Noma Dumezweni in the role of Angela, Lilly Aspell as Emily, Jack Champion plays Zach, Embeth Davidtz plays Heather Mat, Thew Modine stars in the role of Anders Muller.
Retribution: What Happens In The Film?
As Retribution begins, we see Matt, a financier, being so busy in his work life that he is almost absent in his children’s and wife’s lives. Matt decides to drop his kids, Zach and Emily, off at school to make up for the lost family time.
Matt and Emily get into the car, and Zach is forced to come in too. Along the way, Zach and Emily notice their father trying to convince an investor to contribute his share to Matt’s business.
Just when Matt is near their school, he receives a call from an unknown number informing him of a bomb in the car that is triggered by pressure plates. If any of the passengers get out, the bomb will go off immediately. Anxiously, Matt checks under his car seat, and just as he was informed, there’s a whole bomb underneath.
Zach and Emily are confused seeing their father take a different route. Matt notices a biker is tagging behind them, so he stops the car to hit the biker, assuming it is the unknown caller on the phone.
It turns out to be Zach’s new girlfriend. He asks Matt to stop the car, but Matt doesn’t listen. He eventually has to let Zach and Emily know about the bomb.
Now, Matt can only follow the instructions the guy on the phone gives him. The man asks Matt to meet one of his business partners at a certain location, but this partner dies in an explosion after his car was fitted with a bomb, too.
Zach, Emily, and Matt now realize the graveness of the situation and proceed with the next task.
The man asks Matt to call Heather and let her retrieve the safety deposit that Matt’s been hiding. This is when Matt finds out that Heather is at a divorce attorney. He informs Heather about the situation, and she listens to him. Matt now has to give up access to the deposit, which holds more than 200 million euros.
On the news, many of Matt’s business partners were killed in an explosion, shifting the suspicion on Matt.
Another person killed in an explosion is Anders Muller, one of Matt’s best friends. Matt drives through a tunnel to keep the unknown caller unaware, but the police soon surround him.
Retribution: Ending Explained
As we approach the end of Retribution, we see Matt trying to convince Angela Brickmann that he’s not the one behind the explosions. Angela believes him and even lets Matt talk to his wife, Heather. However, Matt realizes that if he wants to find out who the bomber is, he must bypass the police surrounding him.
When both Zach and Emily are carefully taken out of the car after the pressure plates are disabled, Matt drives off into the road ahead. The unknown guy calls him again and gets into his car during a protest. This is where we finally see the man behind the mask, who was Anders all along.
Matt’s confused since we just saw him explode in his car earlier. Anders informs him that it was all a setup. Matt was hurt by his friend’s betrayal and the fact that he was willing to go so far for money. Now having nothing to lose, Matt drives into a pole on the bridge, overturning his car near the edge.
Anders notices what’s on Matt’s mind and tries to blow up the car, but the mobile’s far from his reach. Matt manages to undo his seatbelt and get out of the car in a matter of seconds before Anders pushes the button. Matt falls into the water below and later returns to the surface, giving Angela a slight nod.
When death was near, all Matt could think about was his family and how he wanted to be with Heather, Zach, and Emily. The movie ends here, and we don’t see what happens with the Turner family and Matt after that.
Anders wanted to take the embezzled money for himself, and the only way to do this was through Matt’s Dubai account. Through the dark web, Anders was able to get ahold of the bomb and put the blame for the multiple deaths on Matt.
Even though Matt wasn’t completely innocent either, seeing his children be put in danger because of him caused him to reconsider the choices he had made in his work. The chaotic bomb incident was Matt’s Retribution, with him finally realizing what mattered the most in life was love and family.
Retribution is a classic action film with not too much intensity but enough suspense to keep you going until the end. There’s not a lot of depth or creativity in the plot like all of Neeson’s recent work, but it’s a good watch if you need a suspenseful thriller.
Also Read: Outer Range Ending Explained And Suspense
