![]() But Tom has other plans…Īs much as I love him, it’s time we all agreed that Liam Neeson’s revenge movies are all basically the same. Unfortunately, FBI agents Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos) have decided to frame him for murder, steal the money, and send him up to rot in jail. He’s decided to turn himself in to the FBI, along with the money, in exchange for a more lenient sentence and full visitation privileges. Tom has just met Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh), and he wants to be honest with her. Former US Marine Tom Dolan (Liam Neeson), the man behind the thefts, has stolen around 9 million dollars – and he’s willing to give it all back. Its running time is 99 minutes.A spree of small-town bank robberies over the past decade has given the unknown bank robber a nickname - “The In’N’Out Bandit” for his ability to slip in and out of banks without being detected. The film is rated PG-13 for strong violence, crude references, and brief strong language. “Honest Thief” is playing in theaters, check local listings. But this is a bland movie content to play to movie-starved viewers that are willing to settle for bland. Like to see him interacting with a romantic interest? He and Walsh have good chemistry and they take the material more seriously than it deserves. Like to see him making threats over the phone? This movie has you covered. Like his gravelly voice? You’ll be satisfied. The story, motives, and even action are secondary in “Honest Thief.” The whole project is merely an excuse for Liam Neeson to do his Liam Neeson thing. People get crossed (Tom sells out one character rather unnecessarily), murders take place, and Annie gets pulled into danger, but she’s the kind of character that if she doesn’t get killed in Act 1, she’ll probably be OK for the rest of the film. ![]() Myers’ defining character trait is that he has a dog that he got in a divorce, and I can just picture the writers trying to work a dog into the script because they’ve seen “John Wick” too many times. Better make it dog-cat-mouse since the good FBI, led by Agent Myers (Jeffrey Donovan) is also involved. The rest of the movie is Tom playing cat-and-mouse with Nivens and Hall. They try to silence him, but this is a Liam Neeson action movie character, so you know he’s got a Very Particular Set of Skills. They’ve just made millions of dollars in an easier way than robbing a bank, except of course, for the loose end in Tom. Except that they don’t keep the money as evidence, they keep it for themselves. The agents need evidence to verify Tom’s claim, so he tells them where they can find some of the money. Tom is annoyed by the runaround, but cooperates with Nivens and Hall in a rush to get the unpleasant business over with. High-ranking agent Baker (Robert Patrick, cast in a small role just to get his name on the poster) doesn’t take Tom’s claim seriously and sends underlings Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos) to investigate. ![]() First they don’t believe Tom when he tells them he’s the notorious In-N-Out Bandit (he hates the nickname because it makes him sound unprofessional, I’d hate it because it makes people think of fast food). The FBI suits set promptly to mucking the whole thing up. He figures that if he returns all the money (apparently the robberies were all for sport and he never spent any of the money, which raises unanswered questions about how exactly he supports himself), he’ll get a reduced sentence and can get out in a few years with a clear conscience and a girlfriend waiting for him. Tom wants to put that chapter of his life behind him so badly that he calls the FBI to turn himself in. There’s just one problem - she doesn’t know that he used to rob banks. A year later, Tom wants Annie to move in with him. While renting a storage locker for an ill-gotten $9 million, he meets aspiring psychologist Annie (Kate Walsh), and the two fall in love. Neeson stars as Tom Dolan, a career bank robber who’s getting bored with his once-exciting line of work. Actually, it’s the Era of No Movies At All in certain parts of the country - including New York City, where I live - so I’m grateful to be able to visit my family in Pennsylvania and see anything in a theater, even something as disposable as this. Not as bad as “Unknown,” not as good as “Cold Pursuit.” It would get stomped by any real competition at the box office, but of course this is the Era of No Competition. ![]() “Honest Thief” is a perfectly middle-of-the-road Liam Neeson action vehicle.
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