Liam Neeson and Zachary Levi’s ‘The Fix’ Faces Harsh Criticism on Rotten Tomatoes

Liam Neeson has established a niche in his later career with gritty action thrillers, and this week he joins forces with ‘Shazam!’ star Zachary Levi for another installment in this familiar genre. ‘The Fix’ hit theaters on September 11, delivering the kind of intense, globe-trotting mission that fans have come to expect from a Neeson film.

Directed by Guy Moshe, the movie centers on a team of disgraced, war-weary ex-CIA operatives, with Neeson’s character Larry mentoring the group led by Levi’s Tucker. After a disastrous rescue mission in Afghanistan, the team ventures into Tehran for one last job, seeking redemption along the way.

Unfortunately for the cast, that redemption arc does not seem to extend to the reviews. ‘The Fix’ debuted with a disappointing 10 percent score on the Tomatometer, based on 21 reviews, placing it firmly in “rotten” territory before its first weekend in theaters.

The story begins in Kabul in 2021, where Tucker’s team is tasked with extracting an informant and his family amid the chaotic US withdrawal. As noted by a review from The Hollywood Reporter, the operation quickly spirals into disaster, leaving Neeson’s Larry grappling with migraines and memory issues that plague him throughout the film.

Years later, the same crew is brought back together for a high-stakes mission in Tehran, where an Iranian former CIA asset possesses the location of a hidden fortune. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she agrees to cooperate only if Tucker rescues her anti-Revolutionary Guard activist daughter during the extraction, setting the stage for the film’s central heist-meets-rescue narrative.

However, this premise has not resonated well with critics. Variety’s review described the film’s journey from Kabul to Tehran as convoluted, arguing that it fails to deliver the political or emotional payoff it seems to strive for.

Several reviewers highlighted Levi’s performance as the film’s standout aspect, even as they critiqued the surrounding elements. JoBlo’s review remarked that Levi portrays Tucker as cold and calculated, asserting that any shortcomings in the character stem from the writing rather than his acting.

ScreenRant offered a mixed view on Levi, while still commending the film’s setup involving Quincy Isaiah’s sniper character Clay and the personal stakes of the failed Kabul mission. TheWrap, however, was much less forgiving, describing Levi’s performance as stiff and likening his wide-eyed expression throughout the film to someone frozen in place.

Neeson also faced criticism. FandomWire noted that the film bombards viewers with twists and red herrings in its final act, leading to a narrative that feels incoherent, and added that none of the late reveals significantly advance the story. Flickering Myth went further, criticizing how the film handles its opening war sequence and its broader depiction of the conflict.

Punch Drunk Critics encapsulated a recurring theme in the reviews, arguing that director Guy Moshe’s film contains the foundation of something stronger buried within an overstuffed runtime that leans too heavily into moral reflections rather than its action and heist components. At 2 hours and 22 minutes, many critics pointed to the pacing as a significant factor in the film’s shortcomings.

For Neeson fans hoping for another late-career action hit akin to his better-reviewed thrillers, ‘The Fix’ appears to be landing closer to the bottom of that list. Whether audiences will align with critics once the Popcornmeter fills in remains to be seen, as the film currently has fewer than 50 verified user ratings.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.