Ranking: Liam Neeson's Action Movies From Worst To Best

2. Darkman

Neeson stars in one of his most outlandish action flicks to date here, teaming with writer-director Sam Raimi to play scientist Peyton Westlake, who is left for dead by a mobster, horribly burned beyond recognition. Using some synthetic skin technology he pioneers, Westlake is able to run rings around the mobsters by constantly switching up his disguises in this gleefully crazy comic book-style action flick (which Raimi made because he couldn't acquire the rights to The Shadow or Batman). Neeson admittedly gets a slightly smaller role than usual because so many of his disguises require other actors to play the parts, but it's a rare film where the actor is under heavy, grotesque make-up, and he also gets to play out some of his most ridiculous action, given the heightened reality of the whole plot. The two set-pieces in the final act of the movie, an escape from a helicopter and a stand-off at a construction site, are particularly memorable, but this isn't just a dumb actioner: it's also got a well-developed protagonist and a surprisingly clever script.