Honest Thief

Starring: Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan, Anthony Ramos, Robert Patrick, Jasmine Cephas Jones
Directed by: Mark Williams
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A bank robber (Liam Neeson) makes the decision to turn himself in, but two corrupt FBI agents (Jai Courtney, Anthony Ramos) decide to steal his money.

Review:

Tim: There was a very small window where a new Liam Neeson action movie was something that made you excited. His late career shift to action star was a great movie and it deserved to be celebrated. Two factors dampened that excitement over the years- he is such a prolific actor that we get multiple movies from him every year and (more importantly), the quality of those films hasn't been great. The added problem is that all of them feel generally similar, kind of your generic action dramas. Honest Thief definitely falls into this category. This movie has some strengths going for it for sure, but it's ultimately only a decent movie and a mostly forgettable one.

The story here is a little better than many of Neeson's recent movies and the cast is better, too. Those are the two qualities that give this film at least some differentiation (although I'm certain a year from now, I'll scratch my head and struggle to remember anything about this film). The story isn't bad, though. An elusive bank robber falls in love and decides to turn himself in, to do his time with the hope that he could have a normal life with the woman he loves. This seems a bit farfetched, yes. He's successfully evaded capture for years, he could just as easily "retire" and live his life. But sure, the movie is called Honest Thief for a reason, so he goes the noble route. That doesn't go as planned and two corrupt FBI agents decide to steal his money. This sets off a chain of events that sees our honest thief accused of murder and he has to set out to clear his name. This is exactly the kind of film that plays to Neeson's strengths, but it's also the kind of film we've seen a dozen times before. There's not quite enough here to differentiate it from Cold Pursuit, The Commuter, Non-Stop, Run All Night, or A Walk Among the Tombstones. See the pattern here? Still, an action movie that relies on Neeson to leverage his dramatic chops is firmly in his wheelhouse. The story is decent, it holds our attention. However, as it progresses, it becomes exceedingly hard to believe. There's too many illogical moments throughout the film. This greatly hurts the film.

As I hinted, Neeson is good in this role. He's so comfortable playing these roles because he's had a lot of practice. I wouldn't say it seemed like Neeson put in extra effort. He's comfortable, but it felt just a bit like he was going through the motions. Still, this role is exactly what Neeson is strong at, so he's effective in it. I liked seeing Kate Walsh here. She did great work on Grey's Anatomy many years ago and I always like when she pops up. I wouldn't say her performance was great, but it was fine. She worked well opposite Neeson. Jai Courtney was solid as the most corrupt FBI agent. I like Courtney and this film leveraged his strengths. He can definitely be sinister and unlikable when he wants to be. Anthony Ramos tends to be more likable, so it was interesting seeing him in this role. His character is definitely more sympathetic and Ramos gives a strong performance, one that requires some complexity and depth. He pulls this off impressively. I loved the performance of Jeffrey Donovan. He's an interesting guy- he's capable of so much, but that doesn't always shine through. This is one of the best performances of his I've seen. It's unexpected, unique, but quite memorable. He was one of the best parts of the film and I enjoyed his interactions and banter with Neeson. I wouldn't have expected this, but Donovan was great here. It was also fun to see Robert Patrick. He has a small role, but it's a solid one and he gives his typically strong performance. One final note about the cast. Not that this is unexpected, but it was disappointing. The male actors- Neeson, Courtney, Donovan, Ramos, Patrick- all have memorable and effective roles. Their characters are complex and interesting. The women actors- Kate Walsh and Jasmine Cephas Jones are significantly less developed. This has nothing to do with the talents of either woman- the script doesn't give them enough to do. That's typical, but disappointing.

I have to say, I liked Honest Thief more than I expected to. It's a decent movie that features a strong cast. It's mostly enjoyable to see them together and the interactions are fun. However, the script is ultimately too weak. This is Mark Williams' second film as director and his relative lack of experience shows. He tells the story and there's decent moments, but this movie feels exactly like dozens of other movies. He doesn't make it his own, he doesn't differentiate it or make it stand out. There's probably a place for safe movies like this, but it's ultimately disappointing when you have so many strong ingredients and come out with such a lukewarm final product. I wouldn't say this is a bad movie by any stretch- I mostly enjoyed it. A few big flaws with the script are what pull this movie down.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cold Pursuit, The Commuter, Non-Stop, Run All Night, A Walk Among the Tombstones (yes, I did just pull this list from the above review. I went to all the trouble of looking up similar Liam Neeson movies I've seen, of course I'm going to use it again)