A year without action movies with Liam Neeson would be a lost year. How is the new production with his participation going?
I don't know how much Liam Neeson can take. It's been 12 years since the Abductee, and he clings to the repertoire presented there, which for some may be boring. Time does not spare him, which was evident, for example, in The Passenger, where scenes requiring more effort from him clearly presented difficulties to him. Fortunately, The Fair Thief found a way to do this, and the main character's age was simply taken into account in the script. He's not a super-trained killing machine that has happened to something. He is a retired thief who during one of his journeys meets the woman of his life - Annie (Kate Walsh) and decides to become a decent person for her. He doesn't want to be afraid for the rest of his life that someone will catch him and destroy his relationship. So he calls the FBI and admits to the crimes committed. Not only that, for forgiving him his faults, he suggests returning the lion's share of what he has stolen over the years. As you can guess, there will be agents Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos) who will gladly liquidate him and take the money themselves. If for so many years no one of this thief caught it, and why admit that he volunteered himself. Let him continue to be an elusive ghost. Tom, however, does not like someone who wants to cheat him and deprive him of the opportunity to spend his life with his beloved. Not only that, the gentlemen make one fundamental mistake, which is repeated in every film with Liam, they threaten his woman.
Director and co-writer Mark Williams, who provided us with an excellent Ozark, is now taking the easy way. He decided to serve us a romantic action movie very similar to Gentleman with a revolver with Robert Redford. It's just that David Lowery's 2018 movie was much better written and had some depth. The viewer was emotionally involved in the story he was watching. Williams, on the other hand, opted for very tricky solutions and forgot that history should have its own unique atmosphere. If he wanted his film to be more spectacular, he failed. Of course it's nice to watch Liam start the car "shortly", but the chase scene itself looks poor. The streets of Boston, where the movie takes place, are terribly empty. There is no one on them. Neither passers-by nor other cars, and we are talking here about the times before the pandemic, which only shows how modest the production budget was. I know that Neeson, thanks to the productions of Luc Besson, has become the king of low-budget cinema, but there are some limits.
The acting film is also not at the highest level. The main star plays autopilot knowing exactly what the audience wants from him. So there are a few threats, a few broken noses, and a lot of speaking in a low voice. Kate Walsh doesn't stand out either. In fact, it just is and makes alternating either buttery eyes to her beloved or a scared face when agents appear. Marnie also falls out of Jai Courtney as the main villain. It presents nothing that he would not have shown us in previous movies. There is no creativity on his part and no character that would attract the attention of the audience to the agent Nivens he was playing. I would also like to cool down the expectations of Robert Patrick's fans. His participation in the film is very meager, although important to the plot.
The Honest Thief is part of the trend of Liam Neeson movies that hit the big screen every year. Here is a desperate man fighting for his and his relatives' lives. I have the impression that the actor specifically chooses scenarios in which trauma or the threat of losing someone plays a significant role. As if it was driving him to work. The more his hero suffers or mourns, the harder he hits and the more desperate he becomes in his fight. We've seen it so many times. In my opinion, it's time to change the repertoire.
The acting film is also not at the highest level. The main star plays autopilot knowing exactly what the audience wants from him. So there are a few threats, a few broken noses, and a lot of speaking in a low voice. Kate Walsh doesn't stand out either. In fact, it just is and makes alternating either buttery eyes to her beloved or a scared face when agents appear. Marnie also falls out of Jai Courtney as the main villain. It presents nothing that he would not have shown us in previous movies. There is no creativity on his part and no character that would attract the attention of the audience to the agent Nivens he was playing. I would also like to cool down the expectations of Robert Patrick's fans. His participation in the film is very meager, although important to the plot...