Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Honest Thief

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Lean, entertaining, but violent Neeson revenge/action movie.

Movie PG-13 2020 99 minutes
Honest Thief Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 5 parent reviews

emylou52
emylou52 Adult
February 10, 2022
age 14+
Ok movie. Watched it based off of reviews. Language is stronger than what reviews suggests. What's not stated is there is one use of F***
MarvelDAD
MarvelDAD Parent of 9 and 11-year-old
June 28, 2021
age 10+

Great movie has less violence then suspected!

This movie is the best and has one of the best actors (one of the favorite), Liam Neeson! This movie surprisingly has less violence than normal Liam Neeson movies! Violence: Fighting and guns though there is only two scenes where they actually shoot the guns, once when they are in the house and they shoot a fbi cop (which I would advise to skip) and when there is a car chase, the "bad" people shoot at the car though nothing happens, and a house blowing up with nobody inside. Language: the language is in frequent but contains two s-words and one use of god also one muffled f-word that kids could probably not hear unless they were trying really hard to hear. I think that an 10 or 11 yr old can handle this movie (It has way less violence than any marvels or mission impossibles), as been said I think that you should skip one scene, the scene is placed in a house where two fake cops are pointing a gun at liam neeson and then an fbi agent comes in the house and says wait whats going on... after that like two seconds later the fake cop shoots the fbi agent in the chest and there is some red mist for 1 second and then liam neeson runs to the Boston police station, if you want to see this scene for yourself then look at the trailer. This is probably the most violent scene of the whole movie and I would advise you to ask your son to look away. Otherwise its just shooting guns at cars (Which result win nothing). Great movie and as I said I think a 10 or 11 yr old can handle this! Thanks for listening to my review!
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In HONEST THIEF, Tom Carter (Liam Neeson) is a professional thief who's stolen $9 million over the years without being caught. When he meets and falls in love with Annie (Kate Walsh), Tom decides to turn himself in, handing over the money in exchange for a shorter sentence. Unfortunately, FBI agents Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos), who are assigned to check out Tom's claim, decide to keep the cash for themselves and send Tom up the river. After everything goes south and tragedy strikes, Tom has nothing to lose, so he falls back on his old skills with explosives to take his bitter revenge.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (7 ):

Simple and effective, this action/revenge movie races along on the most basic, primal emotions, and, thanks to the unpretentious performances, is so "honest" that it's easy to forgive its silliness. In Honest Thief, Neeson once again capitalizes on the unique blend of lovable everyman and dangerous tough guy that's made him an action star, perhaps not unlike the early days of Charles Bronson. Tom's meet-cute with Annie is as adorable as his snarly line reading of "I'm comin' fer you" is exhilarating. Walsh is a good match for him, funny and spunky (her character's dire fate is the movie's one sour note).

Ramos is also appealing as an FBI agent whose conscience catches up with him, and Robert Patrick is likable as a trusting senior FBI man. (Courtney's one-note bad guy is a weak spot, but he still pulls it off in a brutish, brick-hard way.) The movie's best touch is Jeffrey Donovan as a good, wry, unflappable FBI agent who's inherited his wife's dog in their divorce and ends up bringing the dog on his investigation. At the helm, director Mark Williams keeps up a decent pace for a trim 99 minutes, and Honest Thief never takes itself too seriously. It's one of the lightest and most unapologetically entertaining movies of Neeson's career, and it may just steal your heart.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Honest Thief's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it shocking? Thrilling? How did the filmmakers achieve these effects? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • How much of the movie's violence is directed toward women? Does that change its impact? How did the scene featuring that kind of violence feel different from other action scenes?

  • What makes Neeson such an appealing action star? Do you prefer him in movies like this, or in dramas? Why?

  • What's the appeal of revenge stories? What are the pros and cons of seeking revenge?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate