By George & Josh Bate
Liam Neeson has developed a reputation for starring in hardcore, action packed films that often push the boundaries of their ratings. Ever since Neeson appeared in Taken in 2008, the Irish actor’s career has entered a different era than what it was beforehand, becoming a certified action star in his later years.
This continues with The Fix, which debuts this weekend in theaters. The film follows Tucker (Zachary Levi), a former military operator who worked with Larry (Liam Neeson). Now suffering from dementia, Larry isn’t the same person he once was. That proves to be a problem for Tucker, who hears about a huge sum of money buried away in a secret location that few are aware of (but one of these happens to be Larry).
If the plot itself sounds generic, that’s because it is. The Fix suffers from a distinct lack of originality, from a story that appears to have been told a million times over to a set of performances that are as standard as they come (and that’s being kind). Funnily enough, not only is the story flat and familiar, but it also bares some humorous similarities to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America World Police. Zachary Levi’s character hires a young woman to pose as a middle eastern wife, and she’s tasked with acting like she fits in a world full of terrorists. It rings eerily similar to the main character of World Police, an actor who goes to the Middle East to pose as a terrorist.
Speaking of Levi, his performance is one of the worst in recent memory. He’s fundamentally miscast as a character who’s supposed to be a hardened, seasoned military professional, but Levi instead appears like he’s trying too hard to look and sound cool, rather than being a convincing, well rounded hero. That he shares so many scenes with Liam Neeson proves to be a massive mismatch, with the latter oozing quality and commanding the screen with his performance. Levi, meanwhile, looks like an amateur who somehow snuck onto a film set.
VERDICT: 3/10
Ultimately, The Fix is not a film worth watching. Not only is it derivative of so many other similar action/heist movies, but it also suffers from incredibly poor execution in its acting, directing, and writing. The film also possesses a strangely right wing political message (which is perhaps to be expected given Levi’s casting), which is off putting while watching the movie.