Seriously, is there anyone Liam Neeson won't take on? Dude's 62 years old and still kicking the asses of terrorists, wolves and Sith lords all over the galaxy. (You have to wonder how he never made it into any of the Expendables films.)
While Neeson has been busy snapping necks and cashing checks across his vast filmography, he has run across some of the most dangerous villains ever put up on the silver screen. To celebrate this Friday's release of his latest action romp, Taken 3, we decided to look back at Liam Neeson's 10 Greatest Foes from over the years:
10. Lynch (The A-Team)
In the A-Team movie, Neeson's Hannibal, leader of the wrongly-accused A-Team, uncovers a conspiracy within the American military, lead by Patrick Wilson's Lynch. Lynch always seems to be a step ahead, but Neeson gets by with a little help from his friends.
Winner: Neeson and his band of misfits.
9. Hades (Clash of the Titans)
Neeson sparred for a second time with Ralph Fiennes, this time as Olympian gods Zeus and Hades respectively. After Neeson frees Hades to condemn mankind for blasphemy, he seeks out the help of his half-human son Perseus (Sam Worthington) to banish his brother back to the underworld.
Winner: Zeus, though his son did all the work.
8. Wolves (The Grey)
As John Ottway, Neeson tries to protect plane crash survivors from a huge pack of vicious wolves in the Alaskan wilderness. But as Neeson struggles against the wolves' force-of-nature, it's soon apparent that they're just stand-ins for his own internal struggle.
Winner: Unknown. Neeson's fate and that of the alpha wolf are both left ambiguous.
7. Javert (Les Miserables)
As bread-thief-set-free Valjean, Neeson spars with a prison guard who later becomes a policeman obsessed with returning him to prison. Javert, played by Geoffrey Rush, is relentless in his pursuit for almost 20 years. Valjean's kindhearted nature finally convinces Javert to give up the chase.
Winner: Neeson, thanks to his virtue.
6. Emmet (The LEGO Movie)
Bad Cop gave Neeson a rare opportunity to show off his comedic talents, since he also voiced Bad Cop's goofy alter-ego Good Cop. His pursuit of average guy Emmet (Chris Pratt) on behalf of Lord Business (Will Ferrell) ends when he decides to be Good and help Emmet in the end.
Winner: Emmet, thanks to a pure heart, though Neeson doesn't technically "lose" since he's never defeated.
5. The White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Neeson gets his Jesus on, voicing the righteous, powerful lion Aslan. Tilda Swinton's wicked White Witch executes him in an elaborate ceremony, but it turned out that this god-like cat still had at least one life left. He later kills the Witch in battle.
Winner: Neeson.
4. Albanian Mafia (Taken & Taken 2)
CIA Agent Bryan Mills keeps getting tangled up in international kidnapping after his daughter (Maggie Grace) is abducted by an Albanian human trafficking ring. After he rescues Grace and executes her kidnapper in the first movie, the kidnapper's dad comes after Neeson and his wife (Famke Janssen) in Taken 2, but with Grace's assistance, Neeson regains the upper hand.
Winner: Neeson and his particular set of skills.
3. Batman (Batman Begins)
One of Neeson's rare villainous roles, his bait-and-switch as Batman's mentor-turned-enemy Ra's Al Ghul was unforgettable, mainly because he was convinced that his heinous task was a righteous one. He proved to be the Bat's equal in combat and would have destroyed Gotham, save for some quick-thinking on Bruce Wayne's part.
Winner: Batman. Because duh.
2. Darth Maul (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
George Lucas' stilted direction made even the charismatic Neeson seem bored to be there. Thankfully things livened up during his final battle against Ray Park's Darth Maul. Unfortunately, despite some power meditation and slick lightsaber moves, Maul's double-bladed saber proved too much for ol' Qui-Gon.
Winner: Maul, though it was short-lived thanks to a spry and energetic Ewan MacGregor slicing the dark lord in half a few minutes later.
1. Nazis (Schindler's List)
Initially a Nazi party member himself, Neeson's Oskar Schindler used his connections to start a business in pursuit of profit. But over time he grew a conscience and spent his entire fortune keeping 1,200 Jews from execution by bribing Nazi officers like Ralph Fiennes' Amon Goeth.
Winner: There were no winners in the Jewish Holocaust, but we're calling this one for Neeson/Schindler for saving as many lives as he did.
