Bullet Points: Honest Thief

Liam Neeson and action movies go together like strippers and poles. He has the “Old Guy Kickin’ Ass” genre on lockdown. There was a rumor he was going to stop making action movies, but once again, Liam is back with Honest Thief. It played at the movies a couple months ago, and it is already out on Digital. I did get my hands on an advanced copy of the Blu-ray, which will be available to own on December 29 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Let’s see if it will make a great better-late-than-never holiday gift for the action lover in your life. 

• The Plot: Tom Carter (Liam Neeson) is a bank robber known as the In-and-Out-Bandit. He has stolen $9 million from small-town banks, and no one has a clue who he is. One day his life changes forever when he meets and soon falls in love with Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh). Tom gives up his life of crime and wants to confess to the FBI. He wants to make a deal. He gives up the money in exchange for a short prison sentence. The FBI think he’s another crazy loon, until a couple of Agents (Jai Courtney) and (Anthony Ramos) discover he’s actually telling the truth. This is when it gets interesting, because the Agents want to keep the money for themselves. All Tom wants to do is the right thing, but he finds himself on the run, when he’s framed for murder. Honest Thief also stars Jeffrey Donovan as the Good Guy FBI Agent and Robert Patrick as the Agent in Charge. It is written and directed by Mark Williams. 

• More of the Same: You know what you’re getting into when you watch a Liam Neeson action flick. Here are some things to expect: He talks on a phone very aggressively. He is the biggest badass in the film. He knows how to blow shit up. He of course will drive some sort of vehicle. Something or someone will get TAKEN from him, and he will make the bad guys pay. That’s the formula. Some might describe it as vanilla, I’ll just say it is a formula that works, since we are still watching his movies, when we could easily make the case it is the same movie being made over and over again. As for the action: I admire him for not going the lazy route. He doesn’t sleepwalk through these films. He actually looks like he gives a damn. In a few years, when he is even older, will he take the Lazy Bruce Willis cameo path? I’m not sure. I guess we will find out one of these days. 
• Wooden: Almost every character has a personality that is paper-thin. Honest Thief is definitely not a movie for Jai Courtney haters. You might go mad. Jai doesn’t do much as the main antagonist. I’m not a Jai hater, but he doesn’t get a pass from me either. The only actor with a bit of character depth is Jeffrey Donovan’s Sean Meyers. He’s the Good Guy Agent who brings his little dog to work. The dog has their own IMDb page, and her name is Tazzie, and she plays a dog named Tazzie in the film. I think she is a Havanese dog. She is a cute puppy. Bow wow! 

• Righteous Liam: Tom Carter only sees black and white. He doesn’t see gray. He is so self-righteous it is almost hilarious. His personality is annoying at times, but please don’t tell Liam. I don’t want him calling me on the phone. Also, his relationship with Kate Walsh’s Annie is simply too predictable. There’s almost nothing that will shock you. You can almost guess the entire plot as the movie goes on. However, this can be comforting, because you can put the movie on, halfway pay attention to it, and still know exactly what is going on, and perhaps, still be entertained. 
• Wrapping it All Up: Honest Thief is a very predictable action movie from Liam Neeson. Fans of Mr. Neeson know exactly what they are getting into. Should you make Honest Thief a late-to-the-party holiday gift for the action lover in your life? If they tell awful “dad jokes”, then you might have a winner. 

Bonus Bullet Points…

• The Blu-ray: Since I was sent the Blu to screen. I’ll let you know the movie has zero special features, but it does come with a digital code you can redeem on Movies Anywhere.
• Beantown: Honest Thief was filmed in the Boston area. At least they didn’t make Almost USA, Canada look like Boston, and went with the actual location. 
• Favorite Quote: “Woof! Woof!” – Barked by Tazzie the dog.
• Familiar Music: You ever wonder why so many movies sound the same? The score is this techno pop that you swear you hear in so many films. That’s because it is the same person. There’s a good chance a movie you’ve seen this week has been composed by Mark Isham and his 186 composer credits on IMDb. 
• Movie Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars. Predictably right down the middle.