Honest Thief

Liam Neeson’s return to action-hero mode in Honest Thief gives this flimsy thriller more credibility than it deserves.

Thematically formulaic and conceptually uninspired, this exploration of whether criminals deserve a second chance settles for a familiar cat-and-mouse framework, even if it takes a slightly different path to get there.

Neeson plays Tom, an ex-Marine whose particular set of skills includes safecracking, explosives, and weapons expertise. Each of them came in handy during a bank-robbery spree that netted him millions while enabling him to elude authorities.

As the film opens, he decides it’s time to settle down after meeting Annie (Kate Walsh), who isn’t frightened off when Tom describes his checkered past. “I realized that what I needed in my life wasn’t money or an adrenaline rush, but to feel loved,” he explains.

Tom decides to turn himself in to the FBI, whose reluctance to believe his confession leads to the dispatching of two conniving low-level agents (Jai Courtney and Anthony Ramos) seizing an opportunity to pilfer the stolen money and frame Tom for a separate incident. Their betrayal and corruption force him to clear his name all over again, this time with Annie’s help.

As directed by Mark Williams (best known as co-creator of the series “Ozark”), Honest Thief presents a standard-issue tale of redemption and starting over, only to find that it’s not that easy to escape your past.

Neeson can pretty much sleepwalk through these types of roles at this point. At 68, he can still handle the physical demands of such a role, while also generates sympathy for Tom’s plight.

However, the character’s rationale for past misdeeds is sketchy at best. The screenplay positions Tom as a broken man whose infractions were justified by difficult emotional and socioeconomic circumstances.

Along the way, the film misses an opportunity for a relevant examination of contemporary police ethics, instead just stringing together a series of chases and confrontations without much effort to heighten the stakes.

Outside of a few effective character-driven moments — again, mostly thanks to Neeson — the plot is driven by coincidences and narrative gimmicks, which prevent the film from developing any consistent tension. While its protagonist wants to come clean, the film is still a mess.

Rated PG-13, 99 minutes.