Honest Thief

Honest Thief

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2020 (2020)
Founder	Mark Williams (director), Steve Allrich (screenplay)
Products	Action thriller film

Honest Thief is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Mark Williams, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Steve Allrich. The cast includes Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan, Anthony Ramos, and Robert Patrick. The narrative centers on a former bank robber (Liam Neeson) aiming to surrender to the FBI, only to find himself betrayed by corrupt officials.

The movie premiered in theaters across the United States, including IMAX venues, on October 16, 2020. It was distributed by Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment. Produced with a budget of $30 million, Honest Thief earned $32.6 million globally. Critical reception was mixed; while Neeson’s performance received commendation, reviewers pointed out the story’s predictable elements.

Plot

Tom Dolan, once a US Marine explosives expert, turns his expertise to a career as the infamous "In-and-Out Bandit," robbing banks with precision. During one of his heists, he stores stolen cash in a storage unit where he encounters Annie Wilkins, a psychology graduate student working there, who remains unaware of the illicit nature of the money.

A year later, Tom decides to come clean and start fresh with Annie by handing himself over along with the money, hoping for a reduced sentence. FBI special agent Sam Baker assigns the investigation to junior agents John Nivens and Ramon Hall. After verifying Tom’s claims and recovering the funds, Nivens and Hall conspire to keep the money for themselves and plan to eliminate Tom. In a violent clash, Nivens shoots Baker and then fights Tom; their struggle causes them to fall through a hotel window in front of Annie.

As Tom and Annie flee from their pursuers, Tom explains his motivation: retribution against his CEO father’s unjust actions that devastated their family. He urges Annie to escape by bus for her safety, but she secretly secures security footage from the storage unit. To hide their corruption, Nivens and Hall assault her; Tom intervenes and takes her to the hospital. When Baker’s partner Sean Meyers attempts to detain Tom, he reveals the truth and manages to evade capture. Meyers becomes suspicious of Nivens’ conduct.

After confronting Hall at his residence, Tom acquires both the security footage and the location of a safe house. Hall warns that Nivens intends to kill Annie in the hospital. With Annie’s assistance, Tom provides Meyers with critical evidence. Following a narrow escape from an attempt to destroy Nivens’ home, Tom ambushes him at the safe house. Furious over Hall’s betrayal, Nivens kills him but is injured during a fight with Tom. Tom then coerces Nivens into calling in the bomb squad for a pressure-triggered IED beneath his car seat; Meyers arrives to arrest Nivens and recover the stolen cash. The device proves to be harmless.

Annie hands over additional hidden stolen money and an audio recording capturing Nivens confessing to Baker’s murder to Meyers. Accepting accountability for his past offenses, Tom turns himself in. Meyers pledges to advocate for leniency in Tom’s sentencing, respecting his honesty and recognizing his role in uncovering Nivens’ corruption. He even suggests that under different circumstances, Tom might have made an outstanding FBI agent.

Cast

• Liam Neeson portrays Tom Dolan, a seasoned criminal known as the "In-and-Out Bandit".
• Kate Walsh plays Annie Wilkins, the romantic interest of Tom.
• Jai Courtney appears as Agent John Nivens, a dishonest FBI agent.
• Jeffrey Donovan takes on the role of Agent Sean Meyers, an FBI agent and partner to Baker.
• Anthony Ramos acts as Agent Ramon Hall, an FBI operative working alongside John.
• Robert Patrick features as Agent Sam Baker, a member of the FBI.
• Jasmine Cephas Jones plays Beth Hall, the spouse of Agent Hall.

Production

On October 12, 2018, it was revealed that Liam Neeson and Kate Walsh would headline the thriller Honest Thief, directed by Mark Williams. Joining the cast were Jai Courtney and Jeffrey Donovan, with producers Tai Duncan, Myles Nestel, Williams, and Craig Chapman attached. By November, Anthony Ramos and Robert Patrick had been added to the ensemble, with principal photography commencing on November 5. The movie was set in Boston but primarily filmed in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Release

In January 2020, U.S. distribution rights for the movie were secured by Briarcliff Entertainment, initially planning a September 4, 2020 launch. The release date was later shifted to October 9, 2020. By June 2020, Open Road Films partnered with Briarcliff as co-distributors. Due to a temporary postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the finalized U.S. release date became October 16, 2020. The lack of competition from major studios enabled the film to expand its screening to include IMAX and Dolby venues.

Box office

Honest Thief accumulated $14.2 million domestically (U.S. and Canada) and $18.4 million internationally, bringing its global total to $32.6 million.

Opening day revenue reached $1.3 million across 2,425 theaters, which included $225,000 from Thursday preview showings. The film debuted at number one with a domestic take of $3.6 million ($4.1 million including Canada). It maintained the top spot during its second weekend with $2.4 million before being overtaken by Come Play in its third weekend.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Honest Thief holds an approval rating based on reviews with an average rating of . The critics' consensus reads: "Guilty of first-degree squandering, Honest Thief returns Liam Neeson to late-period action thriller mode but lacks a compelling story." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 from 31 critics, signifying "mixed or average" reviews. According to PostTrak, 75% of viewers responded positively to the film, with 53% strongly recommending it.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety commended Neeson's dedicated performance but remarked that "Honest Thief isn't incompetent—it delivers enough for pulp action fans—but it's a textbook case of an action movie going through the motions." Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter stated that the film "provides exactly what you expect," noting its concise 90-minute length as efficient though lacking originality. He pointed out writer/director Williams' quirky elements—such as Tom's annoyance at his 'In and Out Bandit' nickname—as minor diversions from its otherwise derivative nature.