HONEST THIEF: CRIMINAL CORRUPTION

 

 

Liam Neeson has had an interesting career. Where most actors go from action films to more dramatic roles he’s taken the opposite path. Early on he was in THE BOUNTY, SUSPECT and SCHINDLER’S LIST. Then in 2008 he made TAKEN. That was followed by two sequels. From there most of his movies have been action adventure films. That holds true with his latest effort HONEST THIEF.

Neeson plays Tom Dolan, a professional bank thief with the nickname the "In-and-Out Bandit" because of the stealth with which he’s been able to rob a number of banks without leaving a clue behind. One day he walks into a storage facility to rent one and meets the manager, Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh). A year passes and he realizes she means something more to him. He buys a house for the two of them but before he can move in with her he needs to set things straight. He needs to atone for his past deeds.

Dolan contacts the FBI and reaches Agent Samuel Baker (Robert Patrick) and his right hand man Agent Sean Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan). He tells them he is the bank thief they’ve been looking for and wants to turn himself in under certain conditions. The two agents having been inundated with numerous people confessing blow it off and Baker passes the job of interviewing him off to two lower agents, Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos).

The pair show up to the hotel room Dolan is in, talk to him and then cuff him there after he gives them the key to his storage locker. At first they find nothing but then find a duffel bag filled with money. Rather than turn it in Nivens suggest that they take the money for themselves. At first disagreeing with his partner Hall eventually comes around. As the pack the bad into their car, Annie walks out and talks to them. They tell her they’re friends with Tom and leave.

Once back at the hotel Nivens doesn’t want any witnesses and plans on killing Dolan. Dolan tells him that this was only $3 million of his stolen cash and another $9 million is still out here. Before they can do anything Agent Baker shows up. Nivens kills him using the shooting to frame Dolan but before he can kill him a scuffle ensues and Dolan gets away taking Hall’s gun with him by tackling Nivens and the two falling out of the window. Nivens is stunned and Dolan runs, bumping into Annie who was coming to see him. The pair barely escape and are now on the run from the two corrupt officers.

From here on out the movie is a series of running and near misses as the pair of corrupt agents frame Dolan and Agent Meyer jumps into the chase to capture the alleged killer of his partner. Several times it seems there is hope for Dolan and Annie but things consistently get in their way. But like the TAKEN films Neeson’s character has a certain set of skills that help him avoid the agents and work towards the chance to reclaim his life.

At age 68 let’s face it, there is definitely a stand in doing Neeson’s stunt work here. Yes, he is 68 years old, hard to believe. But he does such a great job of making his characters believable that you never notice nor care. Dolan is a sympathetic character here and when you learn why he stole the money that he did you feel even more for him. Walsh is most familiar to people from the series GREY’S ANATOMY but she holds her own with Neeson not so much a female in peril as a woman in love and trying to help. Courtney makes the perfect villain and has done so before. Ramos is great as the agent with his conscience nagging at him. And Donovan is solid here which makes you wonder why we don’t see more of him.

The end result that we have here is a movie that offers a solid story with plenty of action that fans of Neeson and those unfamiliar with him will certainly enjoy. There is plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat and enough of a love story to pull the heartstrings at the same time. I don’t know how long Neeson can keep up roles like this but as long as he does I for one will be watching. 

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