Review:
"Honest Thief"
Release Date: Oct. 16, 2020
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 98 minutes An honest thief? More like a dumb and hopelessly naïve thief. The latest in a long line of old man Liam Neeson thrillers, Honest Thief unfolds as an avoidable exercise in survival for a man in search of redemption. And his inexplicably stupid actions at the beginning of this drawn-out cat-and-mouse game—cowritten and directed by Ozark co-creator Mark Williams—costs more lives than necessary. Nicknamed the “In-and-Out Bandit” by the media, Neeson’s safecracker Tom Dolan steals large sums of cash from banks for a noble reason that is still more likely to elicit groans than cheers. Tom decides to go straight after meeting the woman of his dreams, Kate Walsh’s unsuspecting Annie. For him to do so, though, he feels he must confess his sins to the FBI. Now, a smart criminal would negotiate his surrender and float a plea agreement through an attorney. But Tom cold calls the FBI and gets the runaround before waiting days to tell two agents, Nivens and Hall (Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos, respectively) where to find a portion of the $9 million in ill-gotten gains. And they promptly rip off Tom and frame him for murder. Williams and co-writer Steve Allrich do not care that they signal this anticipated turn of events the second Tom reveals himself to disbelieving FBI agents as the In-and-Out Bandit. They are less concerned about how Tom gets himself into trouble than how he gets himself out of trouble. Of course, it is somewhat hard to find sympathy for a thief who becomes embroiled in a dire situation of his own making, even one played by the best of intentions by the typically solemn and resourceful Neeson. Thieves stealing from a thief? Who cares? Especially when the thief in question thinks he is more principled than he is in actuality. So Williams and Allrich have no choice but to constantly use Annie to raise the stakes throughout Honest Thief. Walsh recognizes her limited function—Annie is purely defined by her role in Tom’s life—but she still brings an earnestness to a woman who ultimately commits to stand by her man despite his troubling past. Neeson’s adversaries prove to be an intriguing study in contrasts: Courtney can barely contain the easily corruptible Nivens’ aggression and avarice while Ramos informs the less-combustible Hall with a palpable sense of guilt for betraying his badge and the trust of his family. But it is Jeffrey Donovan, as a scrupulous FBI agent, who steals Honest Thief thanks to his quiet, measured approach to figuring out the truth of the sticky situation. On the other hand, director Mark Williams delivers the fisticuffs, shootouts and car chases in meat-and-potatoes fashion. He also fails to play up until the very end of Honest Thief the particular set of skills Neeson possesses both as a result of the work Tom did before and during robbing banks. (Yes, Tom’s past history plays a significant factor in his ability to get away with his criminal endeavors.) Worse, Honest Thief operates on a humbler scale than Neeson’s recent shoot ‘em ups. It feels much closer in size and in execution to the cheap direct-to-video thrillers that Bruce Willis and Nicolas Cage make these days rather than Neeson’s Taken franchise, Nonstop, or even last year’sCold Pursuit. Is this a sign that Neeson’s days as an A-list action star are coming to end? Doubtful. But, like us, he deserves better than Honest Thief. Honesty, at least in this case, is not the best policy for Neeson. Robert Sims Aired: Oct. 15, 2020 Web sites: https://www.honestthiefmovie.com https://www.facebook.com/HonestThiefMov |
|