WORCESTER — The first movie trailer for “Honest Thief,” starring Liam Neeson and filmed in and around the city in the fall of 2018, hit the streets Thursday, and it’s an action-packed thrill ride filled with explosions, chases, shootouts and fisticuffs.
In other words, it’s what one would expect from the 68-year-old action star.
While the movie allegedly takes place in Boston, there are plenty of Worcester sites to be seen in the 2-minute, 10-second trailer.
Starting with the Neeson voice-over, “I robbed 12 banks in seven states. I have a little over nine million dollars in cash. And no one knows who I am,” we hear this on a split screen that includes the Boston skyline, plus a cap-donning Neeson with his back to Worcester City Hall, and another shot of him resting on the Worcester Common fence watching a money drop.
Neeson is then seen blowing up a safe in a scene most likely filmed inside the vacant Worcester Auditorium.
“I want to turn myself in. I want to make a deal,” Neeson’s character says. “I met a woman. I want to be with her for the rest of my life, without lying about my past.”
As we know from “Taken,” “Taken 2” and “Taken 3,” things are never that easy for Neeson and in “Honest Thief” it’s no different.
Neeson gets tangled up with two greedy special agents who double-cross the reformed bank robber. This leads to the film’s pivotal scene, Neeson flying out of a three-story window of the AC Hotel by Marriott, located on Front Street, with an agent in tow. And, in the scene, you can clearly see the People’s United Bank building on Front Street.
Later in the trailer, when the two men land, Neeson’s character pulverizes the crooked special agent.
Two of the best Worcester-centric screen shots are Neeson running with the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone (“1-800-WIN-WIN-1”) clearly behind him at the corner of Main and Federal streets and another with crooked Special Agent Nivens (Jai Courtney) standing on the steps of the Cathedral of Saint Paul (Chatham Street side) with his weapon drawn and with the Great Wall and Alpha Travel visible across the street.
Other scenes include Neeson walking on Main Street away from Mechanics Hall, a classic Chevy Nova speeding off as it passes the Mercantile Tower parking lot and various car chase and crash scenes in what appears to be areas of downtown Worcester.
In addition to action, the trailer boasts the tough guy taglines “Making things right just went wrong” and “Never steal a man’s second chance.”
With the soon to be popular catchphrase, “Agent Nivens, I’m coming for you,” we learn that Neeson’s character (aka Thomas Dolan) is not only an exceptional bank robber with a heart of gold, he’s a former Marine and demolition expert. Talk about Mr. Right.
Neeson’s love interest is Annie (Kate Walsh from “Grey’s Anatomy” fame).
In November 2018, Telegram & Gazette staffers witnessed a chase scene with a “Churchill Baked Goods” van (allegedly driven by Neeson’s character) in hot pursuit by Boston Police. The scene, which ends with a crash at the intersection of Salisbury and Lancaster streets, isn’t in the trailer.
The film, which was shot at least two weeks in Worcester, is slated for an Oct. 9 release, but in the age of the coronavirus, who really knows?