The company considered the picture to be a smart, action-packed heist movie full of twists that would be easily accessible to Chinese audiences It began negotiations in summer 2021. theaters, illustrates the continuing headwinds. Much like its central character, the film at least proves honest in its intentions.Leeding Media’s long journey to bring “Honest Thief” to Chinese streaming, more than three years after the film’s October 2020 release in U.S.

Running a sleek 90 minutes before the credits roll, Honest Thief is certainly efficient if not exactly original, with writer/director Williams infusing it with enough quirky character touches - such as Tom crankily complaining how much he hates his “In and Out Bandit” moniker - to distract from the derivative feeling of it all. Walsh is charmingly endearing as the plucky love interest willing to put herself in danger, and Donovan does solid work as the agent who comes to respect and trust his adversary (although the actor is saddled with far too much cutesy business involving an adorable dog).

But he fully invests himself in the material, delivering lines like “I’m gonna make things right, my way” with just enough menace while providing subtle notes of tenderness and humor that make his character fully sympathetic. Besides bank robbing, Tom has a particular set of skills stemming from his service as a Marine, including demolitions expertise and being surprisingly effective in hand-to-hand combat with significantly younger men.īy now, Neeson can do this sort of thing in his sleep. “Agent Nivens, I’m coming for you,” Tom quietly intones at one point, and there’s no doubt that’s a promise that will be violently fulfilled. Soon, Tom and Annie are involved in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against them, even while also being relentlessly pursued by the straight-arrow Agent Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice). Those crooked agents have clearly never seen a Liam Neeson movie, since everybody who has knows by now that things don’t go well when you try to take something that’s his (even the film’s poster makes the case, warning “Never Steal a Man’s Second Chance”). Unfortunately, he doesn’t anticipate that the agents assigned to his case, Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos), will double-cross him by framing him for the murder of their superior (Robert Patrick, exuding his usual gravitas) and trying to kill him. Rather than, say, simply returning the money to the authorities anonymously and living happily ever after, the virtuous Tom contacts the FBI and offers to turn himself in and give back the cash in return for a lighter sentence. Dubbed by the media as the “In and Out Bandit,” Tom is ready to give up his life of crime after meeting and falling in love with the vivacious Annie ( Kate Walsh), the manager of the storage facility where he’s stashed his impressive $9 million dollars in illicit loot. Neeson, who fits squarely in that tradition, plays Tom Carter, who has spent the last several years meticulously robbing small-town banks while avoiding any violence. Minus its elaborate car chases and pyrotechnics, the film would have landed perfectly as a ’40s-era Warner Brothers programmer starring the likes of James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart. Less baroque than some of Neeson’s recent efforts, Honest Thief is a solid B-movie thriller that benefits from tight pacing that helps you overcome its significant plot incredulities. Neeson’s imposing physical presence, gravelly voice and minimalist acting style perfectly suit this sort of genre material, of which this capable effort from writer-director Mark Williams (co-creator of Netflix’s Ozark) is the latest example. That sort of shorthand stems from the actor’s improbable late-in-life transition to action movie star. All Honest Thief needs to do is show its star shopping for supplies in a hardware store to let the audience know that some serious mayhem is about to occur. There’s no such need for that in the latest Liam Neeson vehicle. Some movies feature a training montage in which the star is seen flexing his muscles or honing his firearm skills in preparation for a big battle.

Honest thief digital release date