The new Liam Neeson crime movie “Honest Thief” doesn’t feel … honest. We will continue to note the various ways readers can see each new film, including drive-in theaters in the Southland and VOD/streaming options when available. Because moviegoing carries inherent risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the CDC and local health officials. Until that day comes, all this sort of movie serves to do is rob your time, and these days that’s a theft that’s felt all the more deeply.The Los Angeles Times is committed to reviewing new theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. But if this movie is to serve a purpose, it should be to petition for more Liam Neeson fronted comedies, with room for a well-constructed parody of the action blockbusters he’s clearly over making. Honest Thief doesn’t cut it as entertainment, even in the year of streaming debuts and the rise of indie films being given a bigger and better spotlight. Liam Neeson’s certainly no stranger to that prospect, as Cold Pursuit saw him playing another hardcase killer with a darkly comic overtone, and cameos in films like Ted 2 show he’s up for anything. When you’ve got Jeffrey Donovan griping about getting a dog in his divorce, and ultimately becoming endeared to the beautiful beast, it’s a sure sign that you could have gone for a broader toned farce. The most promising thing this flick has to offer is that, with another pass of rewrites, it could have become a potentially decent romantic comedy spoof of what we’ve come to think of as “the next Liam Neeson movie.” Whether it’s by accident or not, the narrative presented points towards a funnier, more enjoyable alternative whenever it tries to be charming or humorous. Too tame to be deadly, but too serious to be funny, Honest Thief is caught in a limbo that feels more like hell. The only way Honest Thief would have worked is if it had decided to take a parody approach. Despite their best acting efforts, the script never gives them the chance to break free of the movie's lack of stakes. Another pair of archetypes, Courtney being the vicious, no holds barred type and Ramos filling in as the compromised family man, their conflict could have been the fuel for more tense and dramatic events to transpire in Honest Thief. There could have been, however, as Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos put their all into their roles as the antagonistic FBI agents looking to cash in on Tom Carter’s big confession. In case you were actually thrown off by that sassy questioning, no, there isn’t. It pains me to say that despite looking like a movie that could let Liam Neeson fans enjoy another exercise in reenacting Taken but with minor alterations, this is an exercise that feels like reheated leftovers carved off of previous projects of its ilk, and thrown together without much meat to help make it a meal. You can practically see where Honest Thief is going with every twist and turn it employs, and if that was the greatest flaw in Mark Williams' film then you would at least still be able to experience varying degrees of entertainment. Honest Thief feels like reheated leftovers. Carter has some secrets that come in handy while trying to clear his name. Needless to say, this is the biggest mistake these men could make, as Mr. But before he can be hers with a clear conscience, he needs to turn himself in and make it all right – a plan that’s complicated by two ambitiously greedy junior agents (Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos) who throw a wrench into the works of Tom’s well-drawn plans who try and take the money. His play to make amends comes on the anniversary of striking up a relationship with Annie (Kate Walsh), a self-storage manager whom he meets randomly and falls in love with. Engaging in the lucrative hobby of robbing banks, he has a little over $9 million is in his possession, and he’s ready to turn it all in to the FBI. The battle plan this time out sees Neeson playing Tom Carter, a man known to the world as the “In and Out Bandit,” much to his chagrin.
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