The Sunday Mail
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
There are three basic tenets to a Liam Neeson movie, and these are: simple plots; cool and suave threats; and plenty of fight scenes, car chases and explosions.
I mean, no one other than Liam Neeson or Tom Cruise has mastered the art of type casting and made it look cool quite like these two.
When one sits down to devour a Tom Cruise or Liam Neeson movie, one knows what they are in for.
They are either going to see out-of-this-world stunts (cue Tom Cruise), or an aged white man with a “particular set of skills” running around beating up bad guys or running from the authorities.
And after a string of not-so-Liam Neeson-like movies, I am glad to report the Liam Neeson of old is back.
Forgive me for continuously dropping the name “Liam Neeson”, but that has got to be the best Hollywood name ever.
It just rolls off the tongue.
“The Honest Thief” tells the story of Tom Dolan, a former marine turned bank robber, who, upon finding love, decides to confess and surrender his US$9 million loot to the FBI.
Unfortunately, two agents — John Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Ramon Hall (Anthony Ramos) — sent to verify his story decide to keep the money for themselves and kill their boss in the process.
What follows is Dolan trying to get a confession from the two agents, protect his girl Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh) and clear his name.
As generic as the plot sounds, it is vintage Liam Nesson and scores high in my book.
With the aura that Liam Nesson brings to any action movie, one doesn’t need any layered or complex plots.
All one needs is a couple of heavy threats, an explosion here and there, a few fist fights sprinkled throughout the movie, and Liam Neeson will do all the heavy lifting.
In this particular instance, “The Honest Thief” over-delivers in some areas, and is flawed in one.
Missing is the usual hand-to-hand combat that made the “Taken” star one of Hollywood’s premier action stars.
The only explanation to this sad fact is probably Neeson’s age, for it is seemingly difficult to produce a realistic film of a 68-year-old white man beating up people half his age. Luckily, the trio of Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan (Agent Sean Myers) and Neeson make up for this fault by over-delivering in their performances.
While some might argue that some characters lacked development, Courtney shines brightest as the film’s antagonist, John Nivens.
Nivens is a simple agent who is tired of working hard and not getting rich, so when he sees the opportunity to steal some money, he takes it.
Now, in as far as motivations go, that is as simple and realistic as it gets.
Greed corrupts him.
Dolan, on the other hand, is a flawed man, who steals to satisfy his adrenaline, and quits as soon as he finds something that matches that high.
While the Dolan-Wilkins relationship comes off as a bit rushed, it serves its purpose in that Annie Wilkins (Walsh) provides Dolan an alternative high.
Courtney and Neeson give out outstanding performances, while mention should also go to Walsh and Donovan.
It is great to see Walsh on the big screen again, and Donovan taps into his “Burn Notice” repertoire as the leading agent chasing Dolan.
The few action scenes in the movie are serviceable, and did I mention that Neeson’s character has one of the coolest bank robber nicknames ever?
“In-and-Out Bandit” is a cool nickname.
Both Neeson and Donovan are two cool actors and “The Honest Thief” is a cool movie.
