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