The 1990 movie Liam Neeson called 10 years ahead of its time: “The instigator of the current crop”Very few movies can genuinely be called originators, but as far as Liam Neeson is concerned, he’s been in at least one of them. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was far from the first superhero movie, and it wasn’t even close to being the first Batman movie, but after it was released, it became the benchmark and blueprint for virtually every single one of those never-ending dark and gritty reboots that dominated the 2000s. Neeson didn’t even think Taken would be released in cinemas, and he only landed the leading role because Jeff Bridges dropped out. “I’m not saying this in a boastful way,” Neeson prefaced, before continuing in a slightly boastful way. “But I think Darkman kicked off all those series of action heroes again, fantasy action heroes.