Watch one, skip the other.

Honest Thief

Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.

Honest Thief poster Liam Neeson is back! The authorities are chasing him and…wait, I think I’ve seen this one. Yeah, I have seen this movie, but I like watching Neeson kick ass so I’ll watch it.

The premise is kinda out there, but I’ll go with it: Neeson wants to return the money he stole in back robberies in exchange for a reduced sentence because he wants to get married (that’s where it lost me), but the FBI agents don’t take him seriously and they send a couple of junior agents that turn out to be corrupt and the standard mayhem and commotion commence.

Neeson does a good job, but there isn’t much to work with for any one. Even the FBI villain is kind of plain. It’s your standard shoot’em up, but it’s not terrible. Neeson is still kicking ass. Bad guys are getting their comeuppance. It’s all good in the end. IMDB gives it 6.0. That’s fair.

Verdict: Watch

The Doorman

A woman returns from combat and befriends a family in NYC. A gang of thieves plot to take the family’s valuables, and she is all that stands between them and their lives.

The Doorman poster I like the trapped-in-a-building-while-fighting-bad-guys movies. Movies like The Raid, Die Hard, and Dredd. So I was intrigued by this one. Plus, it has Jean Reno, so I gotta to see it.

This movie is the penultimate 90lbs. soldier fights bigger, stronger men and wins. They should have hired Gina Carano for this role. At least she looks like she could take on anyone, but this wispy Ruby Rose looks like she could be blown over by a stiff breeze. (Plus, Gina is easier on the eyes.) IMDB says Ruby was a boxer, okay, she did the movie stunts well, but I don’t believe for a moment that she could generate enough momentum to perform the moves in this movie. A couple of them being the completely implausible and much too popular Black Widow Wrap-your-legs-around-his-head-and-spin-around-bringing-him-to-the-ground move.

The premise isn’t terrible, and Jean Reno and Aksel Hennie play the villains quite well, but this movie is too predictable and too shallow. IMDB gives it a 4.4, and that’s 0.4 points too high.

Verdict: Skip