3 Short Paragraphs: Honest Thief

 2020, Mark Williams (A Family Man) -- download

That Liam Neeson plays a man with a particular set of skills is going beyond SNL skits and cliches these days, and I expect at least one of these actioner thriller flicks to come out every year. I really like Neeson, so I eventually get around to seeing them, and for a while I was just enjoying the idea of seeing a man older than me play the centre of action. But, dude, despite the dyed hair, your age is showing through. Men of a particular age, who might not be as active as they should be, should not be running around, doing fight scenes, running, diving, etc. especially when it shows.

Neeson plays Tom Dolan, a man who successfully robbed a bunch of banks, but eventually stopped for personal reasons. He bumps into Annie (Kate Walsh, The Umbrella Academy) at a storage business, and they begin a relationship. As their relationship progresses, and Tom asks her to move in with him, he decides he has to come clean, both to her and to the authorities. He calls the FBI and asks to turn himself in, given that he returns ALL the money, and gets a reduced sentence. Why did he steal all the money if he didn't spend it? He was upset at the banking industry, and wanted to teach them a lesson. Once he cleanly got away with one, he just kept on doing it because it made him feel alive. But now that Annie was in his life, that was enough. Alas, some corrupt FBI agents decide to steal the money from him, and as they fall deeper into their choice, they shoot one of their own, but framing Tom for it, of course. Tom has to clear his name, keep Annie safe, and still end up where he originally wanted to.

This is a by the numbers crime thriller, doing nothing special but still satisfying for giving you exactly what you expected. Neeson is charismatic in his stoicism, something that always separated him from the Growly Old Guy aspects of other aging thriller/action stars, like Eastwood or Gibson. Even if you can see his aching bones & joints show through in a few scenes, he still carries off the role decently. Jai Courtney, Anthony Ramos, Jeffrey Donovan and Robert Patrick are all along for the ride as the FBI agents, good and bad. I watch these movies for the same reasons I watch procedurals on TV, in that the give me a good dose of distraction, and I find comfort in the formula. Of course, I always revel when I see something that is a measure above the norm, not that I often find it, but I am fine if they are entirely, yell at the screen, stupid.