Honest Thief Review

Honest Thief is a small improvement over the typical Liam Neeson revenge slap-up. Written by Mark Williams, the co-creator of the Netflix favorite Ozark The film takes the most loved taciturn revenge merchant and provides him with some interesting characters and things to do. It eventually becomes a standard, acceptable crime thriller, however it's got enough to elevate it above other films like Taken 2, Unknown and The Commuter in the action section of an actor's resume.

The film starts off very well. After a news report montage opening which introduces actor Neeson's Tom Dolan up as master of a gang called 'The In and Out bandit'. In the film, we have a cute meet-cute as Neeson engages in some adorable interplay with the storage unit's manager Annie (Kate Walsh) as he searches for a place to store his wonga that he stole. After a year they're engaged and Tom delights Annie with a new house as well as an invite to live there (again to be accompanied by some hilarious banter). Then, Tom's M.O. is clear: Tom will 'face the culpability of his actions and return the $9 million, and serve the minimum sentence so that the he can return to normal life with Annie as soon as possible. The sting in the ointment occurs when the evil Fed John Nivens (Jai Courtney) decides to steal the money and blame the entire crime on Dolan.

Honest Thief starts with a move that modern action movies are not accustomed to in terms of lavishing care and attention to its protagonists.

Based on a shrewd concept — an experienced criminal who chooses to surrender -Honest Thief Honest Thief starts by doing something that modern action films aren't used to by lavishing attention and time on the characters. Beyond the Tom-Annie duo it is also a chance for the police to discuss topics apart from plot, with experienced officers Baker (Robert Patrick) and Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan) discussing divorce and dogs. There are some interesting characters with quirky quirks, for instance Dolan dislikes the sloppy in-and-out Bandit moniker , but admits that "The Precise" Bandit does not work and the movie is a delight to watch the intricacies of the way the thief gets off his job, focusing on smaller banks that have older vaults next to abandoned buildings.

It's a pity it's a shame in the final third that it of the film gives away the intrigue in the character and the specific details to favor an approach that's more mellow which is filled with decent, but not great fist-fights, shooting-outs and car chases. There's a lot of interesting information the film's themes of guilt and personal responsibility however Williams does not manage to get out the truth, opting instead to follow Dolan to a hardware store to buy things to blow up shite. However, Neeson brings his trademark style, class, and gravitas to the tough-man revenge aspect to ensure that when the time arrives to take on those who have smuggled his motives, you're in good hands.