THE LIABILITY is an interesting little UK thriller with a good premise: an ageing hit-man takes on a young driver to chauffeur him around to his latest hits. Despite the low budget of the production, such a premise allows for plenty of potential, especially when you put Jack O'Connell and Tim Roth in the central roles.

And, let's be fair, O'Connell and Roth are the reasons to watch this. O'Connell shot the film when he was still working on his profile, and it's full of the same youthful energy and character as his role in TOWER BLOCK. Roth is more subdued and laidback, but there are flashes of the old brilliance here and there.

Sadly, my enthusiasm surrounding THE LIABILITY gradually faded as the story progressed. The first half is decent, hinting at great stuff to come, but it all falls apart in the ridiculous and under-written second half. The introduction of Talulah Riley is the point at which it all becomes a little silly and more than a little dull, and even Peter Mullan's best psycho routine can't save it.

Peter (Peter Mullan) is a crime boss who deals in human trafficking. His step-son Adam (Jack O'Connell) is the "son he never wanted." Peter has Adam work for him to pay off a debt. He is to be a driver for Roy (Tim Roth) a quiet reserved hitman as opposed to the chatter-box Adam. As expected things don't go right, but then the film adds an additional twist to it.

The movie is a substandard grindhouse. The music, action, killing, and dialogue are a cut below. Roy steals a Grenada to perform their hit as the car is hot wired, yet has no trouble opening the trunk. Peter lives in a huge house, yet Adam's bed is right next to his mom's and Peter's bedroom. While this makes for film continuity, it is indicative of the missed details and missed opportunity this film had. May be worth a rental to British crime film fans.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, rape.

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