When it comes to action/revenge style movies, most tend to fall in the category of being entertaining yet average works with some managing to surpass expectations in regards to quality with the rest often relying on their main stars to elevate them into being something watchable. With action films like Taken, Non-Stop, and The Commuter, they rely heavily on the appeal of their main star Liam Neeson in both the action and dramatic department, to sell their concepts to the audience. While the films themselves may not come across as being anything particularly groundbreaking in regards to script and plot (Taken was a fast-paced and tightly edited film, that worked because of the kinetic energy the story possessed), they ended up being watchable to thoroughly entertaining films because of Neeson's ability to not only play his characters well, but perform some impressive action sequences involving hand-to-hand combat. Since the release of the first Taken, Neeson has often been looked at as being one of the most appealing action movie stars of the 2010's era with him playing down the formula of being the middle-aged man thrown into a situation where the odds are being heavily stacked against him, giving him no other alternative but to fight his way out of situations and ultimately save the day. That trend which Neeson style action films often follow continues with his latest action/crime thriller titled Honest Thief. While the film isn't anything special to gloat about in the story or writing department, Neeson largely helps with making it be a watchable though fun action flick that unfortunately, never rises above the level of being just plain average.
The plot for Honest Thief centers around a non-violent yet notorious bank robber (Played by Liam Neeson), who falls in love and decides to turn himself in for his past crimes in hopes of receiving reduced sentencing so they can get on with their life together. His plans however, end up being derailed when two rogue FBI agents (Played by Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos) are assigned to verify the legitimacy of his claims with them stealing the money that he stole previously, along with killing a fellow agent who stumbled onto their plot. Threatening both him and his girlfriend (Played by Kate Walsh), the former thief begins pursuing justice with the use of the special set of skills that he used prior which made him a successful thief. The plot for Honest Thief is nothing that audiences haven't seen before with it being riddled with numerous subplots and cliches, that have been shamefully lifted from other action/crime flicks with similar premises. The film doesn't offer audiences anything new, but is made to be fairly watchable largely thanks to Neeson carrying the film with his charismatic performance as the films main lead turned vengeful hero. It's always wise to keep in mind when watching a Liam Neeson action flick, that audiences shouldn't look to those films stories for in-depth plot and character exploration with them just going along for the ride and receive fair entertainment for the films 90 minute running time. Honest Thief honesty, doesn't do much to differentiate itself from Neeson's previous action works, but that doesn't make it an outright failure or waste of time. The film is as fun to watch as its plot and production allows it to be with Neeson once again delivering a gripping dramatic performance mixed with his engaging action persona, that's stuck with him since 2008's Taken. How much one enjoys this film depends on their tolerance of the previous Neeson action films that have been released this far.
Regardless of how one feels about Neeson's previous action flicks, it can be said that the one element of these films that always shines through whether the films manage to do so or not are the performances from the main cast with Honest Thief proving to be no exception. Both Neeson and the rest of the supporting cast attempt to do the best with their given in terms of their roles and main story. For the most part, they all succeed in being effective with the strongest presence in the film easily going to Liam Neeson. He excels in the role of playing aging thief Tom Dolan, also known as the "In-and-Out Bandit". Neeson does a solid job of making his character appear as being both transformed, as well as remorseful of his past actions with him becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of seriousness being directed at his claims of being the actual bandit. The film rests solely on his shoulders in terms of being a decent watch with him once again utilizing his traditional action persona on screen. Kate Walsh gives a likable performance as Tom's love interest Annie Wilkins with Walsh nicely conveying her characters confusion, shock, and understanding in regards to learning about Tom's true profession. Her chemistry with Neeson also manages to come across as being relatively decent. The rest of the supporting cast do solid work with what they're given with Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos both impressing as corrupt FBI agents John Nivens and Ramon Hall. Of the two, Courtney plays the more sleazier and corrupt officer with Ramos providing the audience with the conscience of the two as his character struggles with what his partner talked themselves into while struggling with doing the right thing. Jeffrey Donovan does well in his role as Agent Sean Meyers with his character beginning to suspect that misconduct and murder has happened within his own department while chasing Tom. Although his role is a minimal one in comparison to the others, Robert Patrick does good with playing Agent Sam Baker with his character finding out the truth about agents Nivens and Hall before being murdered. Jasmine Cephas Jones is effective in her small part as Ramon's wife Beth Hall, who senses that something's off with her husband and reminds him of what he would always tell her in regards to doing the right thing. As a whole, the cast for Honest Thief does the best they can with what's handed to them with everyone getting their moment to shine despite the bulk of the screentime going to Neeson's character. Neeson alone is the main reason to see the film with everyone else working off his energy. The cast has much to do with why the film ends up being passably entertaining rather than being completely unwatchable.
The films directing by Mark Williams comes across as being standard with nothing particularly impressive nor crafty being done here. Williams keeps the story fast-paced with the audience constantly being on the run with both Neeson and Walsh's characters. In comparison to previous Neeson action films, Honest Thief feels lighter and more straight-forward with the violence consisting of physical fighting mixed with traditional shootouts and car chases. The film rightfully earns its R rating with intensely violent moments such as a character being stabbed with scissors, or a woman's face getting smashed into a hard surface during a brutal fight. The cinematography proves effective in catching these intensely violent shots with both frantic and quick cuts accompanying the action scenes. The films score by Mark Isham proves effective in adding to the films mood regarding crime and mystery with it also giving more emotional power to the films dramatic scenes, as well as upping the adrenaline during the films intense action sequences. As a whole, the directing effort that Mark Williams gives the film is decent but feels pretty standard for this type of action/crime thriller. Besides the films violent action sequences being well-handled despite carrying a comic-book style feel to how they're executed, there isn't anything shown here regarding Williams directing that stands out as being particularly memorable. The directing for Honest Thief feels as standard and generic as the work done on all of Neeson's action films post Taken.
Another main component of an action film that can make or break it in terms of being passable entertainment is its writing. The screenplay by Williams and Steve Allrich provides a plausible scenario for Neeson to go on full Taken mode once again with the main difference from the other films being that he's an antagonist himself, whose trying to atone for his past sins as a former thief. The script tackles interesting themes that are explored throughout the script such as lies, secrets, mistrust, honesty, doing what's right, love, and seeking ones redemption. Despite the film being designed to be an action vehicle for Liam Neeson, the script has something to say regarding how the love that one feels for another can make them change their old habits with the film also stating that police corruption in any form is bad. The script makes attempts to develop the side characters whenever Neeson isn't on the screen, though they still come across as feeling like stereotypical ones that are often found in numerous other action movies (The two dirty cops for example as well as Jeffrey Donovan's character, who starts off pursuing Neeson at first then begins to secretly support him upon learning the truth about his fellow agents and the missing money). The biggest problem with the writing for Honest Thief is how bland and predictable it comes across as being. Many of the films twists and reveals within the story are ones that audiences can ultimately see coming a mile away. Besides Neeson's character, the rest feel mechanical like they mainly exist to move the plot along. The little moments where the script feels like it wants to go more in-depth with their character exploration, are greatly overshadowed by the generic character tropes they perform. What the script does well for Honest Thief is provide a somewhat interesting scenario for Neeson to return to his trademark action mode. Despite its efforts, the screenplay never rises above being a serviceable effort with a solid premise ultimately being underwhelmed by a bare bones script.
Whether audiences find Honest Thief to be a satisfying action/crime thriller depends on their own expectations of it going in, as well as their enjoyment of the previous Liam Neeson action films. There's nothing about Honest Thief that elevates it to the status of being a great film, nor is it a terrible one. It ultimately ends up being passable mainly due to its ability to lean on its main star for support with the rest of the film being a plain effort. Despite the films shortcomings regarding the lack of a strong script, it still delivers a fair amount of popcorn entertainment that'll fulfill ones craving for action in the moment, but will instantly become forgettable afterwards. The one element of the film that'll appeal to action/revenge fans is how unapologetic it comes across as being in regards to entertaining its audience despite how silly things tend to feel as they play out. As an action film that's designed to entertain, Honest Thief fulfills its duty in that regard, though should neither be taken seriously nor looked upon as being anything spectacular. If nothing else, it gives Liam Neeson an opportunity to remind audiences that despite his old age, he still has what it takes to deliver solid vengeful action in a fashion similar to old-school Charles Brosnan. Where Honest Thief is lacking in both story and character depth, it compensates as being a reasonably simple and effective piece of entertainment if one reevaluates their expectations of it going in.
Final Verdict: For action fans as well as Liam Neeson fans in general, Honest Thief temporarily fulfills their craving for some good old-fashioned revenge style action, though they shouldn't look for anything else outside of that.
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