The Liability (2012)

"For a guy to get along in this world he has to be very very careful." When slacker Adam (O'Connell) gets offered a job by his moms boyfriend to drive for a hit-man named Roy he gets more then he bargained for. What starts off as a simple assignment takes a turn for the worse as he encounters murders, sex trafficking and double crosses. I was very much looking forward to this movie. The producers of "Snatch" and "Lock Stock" made me excited to see it. The last movie I remember seeing that line on was "Layer Cake" which was awesome. This one started off a little slow and really never hit its stride. Even though it's about a hit-man and deals with murder and mayhem it is not an action movie at all. I kept waiting for it to let loose and really grab me but it really never did. This is closer to an art house hit-man movie then the type I was looking for and I had a hard time staying interested. Overall, slow moving and hard to stay focused on the whole time. I give it a B-.

Fmovies: As the German title suggests ... though it does sound a bit like doomsday or something else. Whatever you think of a title, "Liability" is more accurate than the German title. The thriller is pretty straight forward. The story is self explanatory, but Tim Roth does add a lot of Gravita to it. You could almost say he kind of saves the movie all by himself, even though the female lead is beautiful.

The female lead might have a reason for being on screen, but ultimately she is just put on. The very ending feels like it is being dropped on the viewer, which is a bad feeling. The main bad guy, does a great job, but he isn't on screen that much, which is kind of a shame. A nice little thriller, nothing more nothing less

This movie is a good break from usual Hollywood ones, in that it doesn't try to artificially fuel suspense (so the pace is not rushed, but at the same time you never get bored - you keep wondering what's next).

The story may not be very original (it's above average TV movies though and it's told in an original style, letting the viewer understand the situation one step at a time), but it's surprising at every step, like good entertaining (especially a thriller movie) should be.

The actors' play is much better than TV-class movies' as well. Although this movie is not meant to be deep (it's not very philosophical, and that's the only flaw I see in it), it does develop the characters (lets the viewer discover them by means of their actions) gradually and you'll be surprised by how much so they evolve from beginning to end.

I'm not a film critic, but I watch a lot of movies and as the other reviews don't give much justice to this movie, I thought I should step in. So this is just me voicing my opinion. I'm also not a native English speaker.

The Liability fmovies. It's always difficult to watch a film set in locations you know. Sometimes it works and adds a layer of reality to what is after all, just a story.

And what a story.

If you are in anyway familiar with the sort of character Adam is, played brilliantly by Jack O'Connell, you will know hat I mean when I say "Hit man meets divot" because Adam is a div. A chav. Know worra meen? Yuh get me? Adam is an archetype of what's become of working class youth in Britain: feckless, not very bright, sometimes likable but ultimately, a liability.

As the film plays out there are genuine laughs and some really dark moments. Some expected and some totally unexpected.

The Liability is an instant classic but let's hope that it's not a cult classic and it has the exposure to the mainstream that it needs.

7/10 go see it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, i was under no illusion that it would be a typical high budget unrealistic disaster and that is why i watched it! i enjoy watching home grown talent in familiar scenery that is well acted, with good plots, good screen plays that suit the actor and do the movie justice. So i personally would disregard the previous comment and give it a watch because i do not know what film he or she were viewing, and it is definatelly not film noir. Tim roth its nice to see you back on form, jack o'connell i thought you did a sterling job, but remember one thing please and that is do not become a danny dyer and become chained to one director because you have a bright future.

Although sometimes aimless, "The Liablity" wonderfully weaves an intelligent story of Adam (Jack O'Connell) by playing to the actor's strengths (slow humor, immaturity, cockiness, and a buckets of empathy). When Adam is asked to become the "driver" for his step-dad's hit-man, we run into Roy (Tim Roth) who also does an excellent job. Tim Roth plays the critical role of reality check for the viewer, questioning Adam at every point, giving the movie a great sense of character depth during the dialogues.

In the 'day-and-age' of re-hashed Guy Richie British crime movies, with the same actors, playing the same roles, its really refreshing to see movie that doesn't rely on the same-old intersecting plots, with inconceivable charters. "The Liablity" is also supported by a great soundtrack, some great industrial-cinematography, and solid writing, overall 8/10 and well worth watching.

Think of it as catcher-in-the-rye meets > Léon: The Professional > meets > Skins.