Heist
Lionsgate
Reviewed by: Tami Smith, Guest Reviewer, for Shockya
Grade: C+
Director: Scott Mann
Written by: Stephen Cyrus Sepher, Max Adams, based on a story by Stephen Cyrus Sepher
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Robert De Niro, Dave Bautista, Morris Chestnut, Gina Carano
Release Date: November 13, 2015
Remember those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer// Those days of soda and pretzels and beer”? Those were the days of picnics, hotdogs, cola and apple pie. You would take the first bite of hotdog heavenly bliss, lather on the mustard and say: “this is heaven”. Fifteen minutes later, with Acid Reflux roaring with vicious intensity, you would reach for Tums.
It took me a shorter time to reach the “Deja-vu” feeling of dread while viewing Heist.
It looks like Robert De Niro got tired of playing Ben, “Mr. Nice Guy”, in The Intern and decided to give us Francis “The Pope” in Heist. Mr. De Niro’s character is a tough-as nails casino owner, who will spare no harsh measures to protect his profits. He surrounds himself with reliable body guards, such as Derrick “The Dog” (Morris Chestnut), who will protect him by all means necessary. When one of his croupiers, Luke Vaughn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), needs a large sum of money for his dying, hospitalized daughter “The Pope” refuses and thus sets the stage to this generic by-the-numbers crime thriller.
We watch Luke planning an early morning heist on The Pope’s casino, how the operation goes wrong, how the heisters highjack a city bus, how passengers on the bus fit the generic types of “the pregnant chick”, the runaway child, the Asian male and the assistant vet who is tasked with saving one hijacker’s life (oh, really?). We also see the bad cop Marconi (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and the good cop Kris (Gina Carano) who is willing to bend the rules.
Shot in Mobile, Alabama with a grainy quality by Brandon Cox, who uses a hand-held camera, and edited by Robert Dalva, director Mann’s film moves at a brisk pace, without overstaying its welcome of 93 minutes. If you are tired of watching year-end biopics and other historical creations, then go and see Heist.
Rated R. 93 minutes. © Tami Smith, Guest Reviewer
Story: C
Acting: B
Technical: B
Overall: C+
