Liam Neeson is back in another intense action thriller, but this time, the 74-year-old Irishman isn’t the one doing all the heavy lifting. Instead, it’s his younger co-stars, with Zachary Levi, who’s 30 years his junior, taking the lead as Tucker, an ex-CIA operative who handles most of the action. Neeson portrays Larry, a seasoned and weary CIA veteran who guides his disillusioned mentee Tucker, who once led a specialized team on a rescue mission in war-torn Afghanistan that ended in disaster. Larry persuades Tucker to reunite the disgraced ex-CIA crew for a daring extraction in Tehran. Their mission? To retrieve $25 million from Hotel Tehran (a code name, not an actual hotel) believed to be hidden there since the embassy crisis in ’81.
Directed by Guy Moshe, who teamed up with Mark Bacci and Ron Hutchinson to write the script, the story is inspired by Bazzel Baz, a former CIA officer and U.S. Marine focused on counter-terrorism. As the executive producer and consultant, Baz brings a level of authenticity to the military action portrayed in the film. At one point, the movie was titled Hotel Tehran, which I find to be a much more intriguing title compared to the bland and generic The Fix.
In any case, this film is rated R for a solid reason. The flashback scene depicting the failed mission in Kabul is both bloody and brutal. Some team members sustained serious injuries; one of them got his leg blown off. Things went completely FUBAR, forcing Tucker to make a last-minute tactical choice that continues to haunt him. I’m not really into war films, so I had to avert my eyes quite a bit and also cover my ears, as the sound design of the gunfire and explosions was pretty intense. The portrayal of chaos and battle scenes has genuine tension and proper dread.
Now discarded by the agency they once worked for, Tucker and his crew sneak into Tehran to execute a job that nobody approved. The Fix is a mix of heist and rescue mission, putting the team in the line of fire from both the Iranian government and unfriendly intelligence agencies. Larry presents the crew with a life-altering payday and a shot at redemption, but naturally, it comes with a steep cost, and at times, it’s unclear if they’ll make it out alive.
I hadn’t heard of Guy Moshe before watching this. A quick look on IMDb reveals he’s directed a drama set in Cambodia, a martial-arts thriller, and a dystopian sci-fi film. He seems well-suited for this mid-budget thriller and handles the explosive action scenes quite well, making them feel immersive. However, the pacing is my main concern, as it tends to drag in certain parts, particularly during the second act, which really drains the engagement. The shift between the intense action and the dramatic scenes isn’t always seamless, although the pacing improves once they arrive in Tehran.
Even though Neeson is featured on the poster and it’s marketed as a Liam Neeson action film, he doesn’t actually have that much screen time. However, every time he appears, he brings a certain gravitas to the role and has a solid chemistry with Levi. Technically, Levi takes the lead here and is also one of the executive producers. He’s mostly known for his comedic and family-friendly roles like Shazam! and American Underdog, making this his first venture into an R-rated, violent thriller. He’s pretty convincing in this role, and with his tall, muscular build, I could see him becoming an action star if he plays his cards right.
The supporting cast is quite diverse: Wes Chatham (who’s great in The Expanse), Quincy Isaiah, Titus Welliver, Jake Choi, Augusto Aguilera, Annet Mahendru, and Numan Acar. This group portrays a pro-military brotherhood and camaraderie, even though they don’t always agree during their mission. There are also a few actors of Iranian descent, including the talented Navid Negahban (whom I recognized from AppleTV’s Tehran and Kandahar), Lara Wolf, and Elnaaz Norouzi. The stunning Iranian-German Norouzi plays the wildcard role of Sophie, Tucker’s pretend wife during the Tehran mission with dubious loyalty. It’s a largely male-centric story, but I do give credit to the filmmakers for including a strong female character who has her own sense of agency.
The movie really shows the heavy mental strain that real-life special forces go through, and it points out how PTSD often gets ignored after their service ends. There’s a strong theme of distrust towards the U.S. government and its bureaucracies that runs throughout the story, and it even touches upon a secret conspiracy from the Jimmy Carter era. It gives a sharp critique of U.S. foreign policy, portraying it as unreliable. While all of this is fascinating, the writing is pretty convoluted, and the nearly 2.5-hour runtime makes it feel even longer.
Ultimately, The Fix is a story of redemption through violence that could’ve been a good thriller with a few more script um, fixes. I particularly enjoyed the heist element, even though it took a while to get to the most exciting part. Whether or not this film is worth your time really depends on your taste in violent action flicks and the cast. While it’s not the best of the genre, it could be a decent ‘action fix’ on streaming for those who enjoy bloody conspiracy thrillers.
