Retribution Ending Explained

Summary Despite promises of a major plot twist, Retribution's ending became predictable, leaving viewers wanting more.

The storyline in Retribution remained conventional and rote, failing to live up to the potential of a thrilling action film.

The real reason Anders targeted Matt was solely to steal money, showing the film's lack of morally complex motivations.

Retribution’s ending explained a major plot twist that was supposed to surprise viewers but the conclusion of Liam Neeson’s latest thriller was surprisingly predictable. The third remake of 2015’s Spanish sleeper hit El desconocido, Nimrod Antal's Retribution stars Neeson as a banker whose life is thrown into disarray during a school run with his children. After Matt Turner gets into his car, he ignores his children while finishing an important work deal with his colleague Anders. Matt finishes that call and a mysterious second phone begins ringing.

Matt answers this call and a distorted voice warns him that a bomb is beneath his seat. In Retribution’s plot, Matt needs to follow his tormentor’s commands lest his car and its inhabitants be blown to pieces if he tries to leave the vehicle. What follows could have been a mixture of Speed and Crank, but the storyline remains conventional and rote. Matt’s co-worker Sylvain is similarly targeted, thus proving that this situation isn’t an elaborate prank, and Matt is eventually coerced into meeting with Anders.

Related Is This 2022 Thriller Really Liam Neeson's Worst Movie In His 46-Year Acting History? Liam Neeson has starred in many action thrillers such as Taken and The Grey, but not all of them have been quite up to par with his career-best films.

How Anders Faked His Death In Retribution

The Villain's Plan Set In Motion

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Retribution Cast Liam Neeson Matt Turner Noma Dumezweni Angela Brickmann Lilly Aspell Emily Turner Jack Champion Zach Turner Arian Moayed Sylvain Embeth Davidtz Heather Turner Matthew Modine Anders Muller

Matthew Modine’s Anders was the next co-worker drawn into this villain’s shady plot. The antagonist told Matt to shoot Anders, but Neeson’s heroic character couldn't bring himself to do this. As a result of his indecision, the killer took the option away by blowing up Anders’ car. In a twist, Retribution’s ending explained that Anders is the villain. By staging an explosion that didn’t kill him, Anders had dodged the bomb’s blast radius while simultaneously convincing Matt that the killer on the phone meant business.

Anders uses his fake death to force Matt to follow his demands.

Anders uses his fake death to force Matt to follow his demands, including transferring a significant sum of money into an offshore bank account. Anders hopes to start a new life after using Matt to pull off his potentially lethal heist. Matt has other plans. When a police barricade stops his car, Matt convinces the police that he is following instructions from an unseen villain. Once the police safely remove his kids from the car, Matt gives them the slip and meets up with Anders. With Anders in the car, Matt drives off a bridge while exiting the vehicle, thus activating the bomb.

Matt Survives The Explosion In Retribution’s Ending The Same Way

Matt Is Willing To Sacrifice Himself To Stop Anders

Most of Retribution's cast of characters survive the movie's action, although Anders dies in the second climatic explosion. Matt, however, emerges from the river where he crashes his car. As he gets out of the water, it becomes clear that the police know he is innocent, and that Anders used him as a pawn. This doesn’t explain how Matt knew he would survive the explosion. He survives as Anders did, by moving away from the blast radius (swimming deeper into the river under the bridge). Matt doesn't know this will work but is willing to sacrifice himself.

The Real Reason Anders Targeted Matt In Retribution

Matt Is The Only One Who Could Do What Anders Needed

Early in Retribution’s story, it seems as if Matt’s job as a banker has a connection to his tormentor. Indeed, savvy viewers might have assumed that the villain was targeting a morally ambiguous figure like Matt, much like Saw’s murderous villains target insurance agents, corrupt bankers, and other untrustworthy white-collar professionals. However, Retribution’s villain is also a banker and his motivation is less morally complex. Anders and Matt are the only bankers with authorization to access a secret offshore bank account and transfer money into it.

Anders and Matt have to authorize transfers to this account together.

However, Anders and Matt have to authorize transfers to this account together. Anders needs to fake his death and set up this elaborate, explosive plan so he can steal money. While it seems unlikely a banker would struggle to embezzle funds via an easier method, this is the lone reason Anders offers for setting up Matt in Retribution. It is tough to see how the character thinks he can get away with this, as the police would not assume Matt blew up his car after stealing money. However, this plot hole might explain the Liam Neeson action movie’s bad reviews.

How Zach & Emily Escaped

Matt Forces His Children's Escape

In the first two-thirds of Retribution’s story, the stakes remain high for Matt. He drives with his two children, Zach and Emily, in the car’s backseat. Zach and Emily spend a long time refusing to believe the car is rigged with an explosive device, even long after their father has acclimated to this shocking reality. Fortunately, the children realize the gravity of the situation eventually. They are saved when Matt drives straight into a police barricade at the end of a long tunnel.

Had he been able to name him as his attacker, he might have gotten out of the car.

The police help Zach and Emily out of the car and offer to disarm the bomb and save Matt if he turns himself in. However, Matt drives off to clear his name once he gets his kids out of danger. This makes sense. Matt doesn't want his unseen attacker to get away with the plan and torment him again. Matt still doesn’t know that Anders is the villain. Had he been able to name him as his attacker, he might have gotten out of the car and saved himself some injuries by letting the police deal with it.

The Real Meaning Of Retribution’s Ending

Retribution Is All About Putting Family Above Money

Retribution’s ending struggles to find a profound message among the movie’s bone-crunching action and fast-paced chase scenes. One could argue Anders represents the worst excesses of the contemporary finance industry, with the ruthless villain attempting to kill for money. However, Matt worked closely with Anders for years and is portrayed as a hero. This explanation is complicated. Ultimately, Retribution’s ending explained that Matt needs to spend less time on the phone and more with his family.

How The Retribution Ending Compares To El Desconocido

There Were Several Small Differences Between The Movies

Just like Retribution, the original movie, El desconocido, also features a corporate bank executive who ends up forced to pull off the heist or have his car blown up. The Spanish-French action thriller stars Luis Tosar as Carlos, while Javier Gutiérrez stars as Lucas (the stranger). One of the big differences is that the killer in El Desconocido put a bomb trigger under all the seats, so even if Carlos's son gets out of the car, it will blow up and kill them both. However, it is only the front seats that have the bombs.

After Carlos's son (who was injured in the earlier explosion) gets out, his daughter Sara jumps into the front seat with her dad, and now she can't get out either or she will be blown up as well. This big difference means that Carlos is not alone, so he can chase the bad guy, as he is in the Liam Neeson version. However, the biggest difference is the reason for the extortion. While Retribution shows one banker threatening another for money, this is a morality tale. Here, the killer's wife died by suicide because Carlos convinced her to make bad investments, making him a morally complicated bad guy.