Honest Thief

I liked it. It's an unpretentious action-thriller, nothing more, perfect entertainment for a rainy afternoon. Maybe it starts up a bit slow, and in between the action-scenes there may be a bit too much talking, especially between the honest thief (Liam Neeson) and his love-interest (Kate Walsh). And maybe the premise of an uncatchable bank-robber who doesn't use one single dollar of the 9 millions that he so far has laid his hands on, is a bit far-fetched and unrealistic. As is his motivation for robbing banks anyway, which almost makes him look angelic. But it at least does make for an original story and when the action kicks in, with lots of car-chasing and explosions, it's pretty exciting.

Liam Neeson does his usual fine job, and they've adjusted the physical exertions of the fighting-scenes to his age (meanwhile over 65), so it stays believable. I only became a bit weary of his raspy grunting voice, I kept wondering if he deliberately creates this for the supposed effect or if there's something wrong in his throat. Kate Walsh's part is small, she mainly has to act loving or wise or amazed, according to the specific scenes, which she does adequately.

Greed corrupts absolutely. That is the main theme that emerges in this average sort of adventure. Liam Neeson and Kate Walsh carry the film. If you watch the trailer you get the whole gist of the film with no twists. Some good action scenes but our main villain proves to be very one dimensional. No backstory and stupid greed leads them to their betrayal of the badge. Overall it was good easy to understand fun and action, don't expect too much.

Average film, generally enjoyable. Mild action film with an expected ending. Personally felt it was better than some of the reviews, but my expectations weren't high going in. I felt I basically knew everything I needed to know from the trailer, and it played out as anticipated.

I suppose, if the franchise is popular, you might as well milk it. Neeson does what he's cast as, albeit slower and not as much ass kicking that I would have liked to see, however, he is on the verge of 70 and can still do convincing fight scenes. Always good to see Jai Courtney in a movie, he plays a great baddie in this one. Haven't seen Jeffrey Donovan since Burn Notice, was expecting him to sort out the mess that unfolded. Kate Walsh looked great, a bit ho-hum until the scene with Jai's character. The plot is a little far fetched, suspend disbelief and the movie will be ok. I would recommend this.

Liam Neeson does another Taken film but this time the a pair of FBI agents are the bad guys. He blows up safes and has accumulated millions from his heists. He meets a woman right at the start of the movie and he falls in love with her and decides to turn himself in to prove his love for her. Temptation takes over as the lawmen decide to pad their retirement plans with a few million of the stolen loot. As expected, we get the car chases, fights and very little romance here. The script is nothing new but Liam is so good that it can be forgiven.