Instead of catching viewers off guard with a shocking twist, the way Retribution wrapped up played out in a way that didn’t bring much surprise. This remake, the third version of the 2015 Spanish sleeper El desconocido, features Liam Neeson as Matt Turner, a banker whose routine school drop-off spirals into chaos.
Once he enters the car, he focuses more on sealing a business deal with a colleague named Anders than on his kids in the backseat. As soon as he ends the call, another phone starts ringing — a phone he wasn’t expecting. Once Matt picks up the second phone, a distorted voice on the other end tells him there’s a bomb under his seat.
The bomb under the seat is just the beginning (Photo: Retribution/StudioCanal and The Picture Company)Throughout the film, Matt must obey the caller’s instructions or risk the vehicle exploding if he dares to get out. What follows leans heavily on familiar thriller patterns instead of building something more gripping like Speed or Crank.
Things become more serious when Sylvain, one of Matt’s coworkers, also falls into the same trap, confirming that this isn’t a twisted joke. Eventually, Matt is manipulated into meeting Anders, pushing the story further.
How Anders Faked His Death In Retribution
The Villain’s Plan Set In Motion
Instead of keeping things straightforward, the story draws attention to how Anders, played by Matthew Modine, also got entangled in the villain’s scheme. The person on the phone instructs Matt to kill Anders, but Matt’s conscience stops him.
Since Matt refuses, the caller detonates a bomb in Anders’ car, seemingly killing him. What’s later revealed is that Anders orchestrated his fake death. He survives by stepping away from the area that would be hit hardest by the blast, convincing Matt that the caller is extremely dangerous.
This staged death becomes a tool for Anders to pressure Matt into cooperating with his demands. Through this fake death, Anders corners Matt into completing tasks for him, including transferring a large amount of money to a hidden offshore account.
He plans to use Matt to pull off a life-threatening scheme and disappear afterwards. But Matt isn’t about to let that happen. When the police block the road, Matt manages to explain that he’s acting under the control of an invisible criminal.
Once his children are safely taken out of the car, Matt makes a run for it and links up with Anders. With Anders now inside the vehicle, Matt drives off a bridge and jumps out before the car hits the water, triggering the bomb.
Matt Survives The Explosion In Retribution’s Ending The Same Way
Matt Is Willing To Sacrifice Himself To Stop Anders
Rather than ending with a high body count, most of the characters make it through the film alive, except Anders, who dies in a second explosion. Matt comes out of the water after the crash, and it’s immediately clear that the police now understand he was manipulated and used by Anders.
While it’s not explained how Matt was sure he’d survive, the method mirrors what Anders did — Matt swims away from the impact area beneath the bridge. He wasn’t certain this would save him, but he still took the risk to make sure Anders didn’t succeed.
The Real Reason Anders Targeted Matt In Retribution
Matt Is The Only One Who Could Do What Anders Needed
Rather than focusing only on revenge or moral justice, Anders targets Matt for a practical reason tied to their job. Early on, it’s hinted that Matt’s banking career might have drawn the wrong kind of attention. Some viewers might suspect that he’s being punished for unethical actions, like how villains in Saw choose targets.
But the story goes in another direction — Anders is also a banker, and his motive is based on needing Matt’s help to access an offshore account. The conditions around the account require both Matt and Anders to be involved before any money can be transferred.
Without Matt’s cooperation, Anders can’t pull off the theft. He fakes his death and sets up the entire situation just to get Matt to unknowingly help him move funds. It’s hard to believe that someone in Anders’ position couldn’t find a simpler way to steal money, but this is the only justification provided.
Given how suspicious the events look, it’s puzzling that Anders believes this plan will make him vanish without being traced. These logical holes possibly contributed to the poor reception the film received from viewers.
How Zach & Emily Escaped
Matt Forces His Children’s Escape
Instead of letting the danger affect only himself, Matt also has to protect his children, Zach and Emily, who sit in the backseat during most of the ordeal. While Matt adjusts quickly to the bomb threat, his children struggle to accept what’s happening, even after several close calls.
Eventually, they begin to understand how real the threat is. Their chance to get away comes when Matt speeds into a tunnel and meets a line of police cars blocking the way. Although he could have identified his attacker and asked for help, things didn’t go that way.
The authorities step in and help Zach and Emily out of the vehicle, offering to help Matt too if he surrenders. But instead of giving up, Matt drives away once he knows his kids are safe. His reason is clear — he doesn’t want the person behind all this to go free.
He’s still unaware that Anders is the one pulling the strings. If he had known, he might have stayed back and let the police take over instead of getting injured trying to stop things himself.
The Real Meaning Of Retribution’s Ending
Retribution Is All About Putting Family Above Money
Instead of delivering a deep message, the film wraps up on a note that feels less profound than it might have aimed for. One angle some may point to is how Anders represents the greed in modern banking — someone willing to kill just to gain financially.
But this interpretation feels shaky, especially since Matt, who works closely with him, is portrayed as a good man. Things get murky here. The final scene shows that Matt has realised that his constant attention to work has kept him from spending time with the people who matter most — his family.
How The Retribution Ending Compares To El Desconocido
Anders plays dead while pulling the strings (Photo: Retribution/StudioCanal and The Picture Company)There Were Several Small Differences Between The Movies
Although Retribution closely follows the structure of El desconocido, a few details separate the two films. In both versions, a banker finds himself forced into committing a crime or risking death via a car bomb. El desconocido, a Spanish-French production, stars Luis Tosar as Carlos and Javier Gutiérrez as Lucas.
One key detail that differs is the setup with the bombs. In the Spanish version, every seat in the car has a trigger, meaning that if Carlos’s son leaves, the whole car explodes. Retribution only places bombs under the front seats.
After Carlos’s son, who already suffered injuries, is taken out of the car, his daughter, Sara, jumps into the front seat with him. That action traps her in as well — if she leaves, they both die. This adjustment changes the tone.
In El desconocido, Carlos is not left alone, which means he can go after the villain while protecting his daughter. Another difference lies in the villain’s motive. While Retribution presents a banker scheming against a colleague, El desconocido treats the plot more like a lesson.
The killer is someone whose wife took her own life after Carlos gave her poor investment advice, adding more moral weight to the villain’s backstory.
