El atraco

A Polish crime investigation thriller caught my interest with its intriguing plot. I was expecting an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but it turned out to be quite laid-back.

The movie, partially based on a true story, centers around a bank robbery where three employees and a security guard were gunned down in cold blood. An ex-police officer is given a chance to reclaim his former life by solving the case within a stipulated time.

The movie has a promising start with the crime scene and the formation of an investigation team, setting expectations for a thrilling experience. However, it introduces suspects early on, leaving no room for guessing, as the culprit becomes evident almost immediately, killing much of the suspense. The pace of the movie is slow, and with no major revelations, it becomes tiresome to watch.

Olaf Lubaszenko, as the investigating officer, fits the role perfectly, delivering a subtle performance that shines throughout. He is ably supported by Wiktoria Gorodecka, while Jedrzej Hycnar, as the prime suspect, steals the spotlight and showcases a range of emotions, proving his acting mettle.

The cinematography is top-notch, capturing the essence of the '90s setting convincingly. While it's understandable that the movie aims to stay true to real-life events, it lacks the dramatic spice needed for a captivating watch. This is where the movie fails to deliver. With bloodshed and gory scenes, it's definitely not one for the kids.

If you plan to skip this, you're not missing much. An investigation movie should have arcs of thrill, suspense, and twists, and this one falters in all these areas.

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Surprisingly well written dialogues, substantly inspired by "Psy", in this film which is a creative interpretation of a real-life bank robbery during the political changes in Poland in the 90s.

You will find many reviews criticising the fakeness of the case, but if you approach Napad/Justice the way the filmmakers want you will get a really entertaining police thriller with a body count like in the good Midsomer Murders, a grim old secret communist policeman in the lead, suspense that comes out of absolutely nowhere, a not particularly sensible investigation, but for all that very pleasantly acted (even the child actors!), with really good dialogue and great sets and costumes (I give a seal of approval as someone who remembers the 90s from my childhood and teenage years).

Basically, it was clearly an attempt to create a typical American thriller from a streaming service, only set in Polish early capitalism reality. And in this category I have no hesitation in recommending it.

This is a very fine police drama from Poland, and it reminds me greatly of the Icelandic police drama series Trapped and Entrapped which also were extremely successful for Netflix. No pretty people, bleak surroundings, people who have problems in relationships due to their circumstances and cops who know how bad the gutter is because they are only a few steps removed from it themselves.

The current IMDB rating as I write this for the film is 6.3. That is a travesty. It may be that the writers gave away a bit to much to early, but it still was a riveting movie that one will watch to a suspenseful conclusion. Sure it is not some super sci-fi blockbuster but overall it is well done film making.

I know the setting for the movie is supposed to be in the past, I am guessing the early 2000's, but I sure hope Poland today is not as bleak as what we view in the movie.

A bank robbery ends up with casualties and the three robbers are out there as the evidence available isn't enough to pin them. A disgraced investigator is given an opportunity to solve this case while working with a prosecutor and he is one tough cop who goes by the book. On the other hand, the antagonist is the one who wants to stay out of prison no matter what. He is a by the book criminal who brings in the known tricks to escape. The cop has to nab this criminal in 15 days and what transpires in that period, forms the story.

This Polish investigative drama rather than a thriller sticks to it's template. I wouldn't call it a thriller as there is no suspense in who is the culprit and the steps he takes to save himself aren't surprising either. What does work though is the whole set up and the performances. There are no over the top action scenes, the writing does push towards the obvious and the backstory to the villain is not as effective. The serious cop played by Olaf Lubaszenko is the main highlight and he brings in the right amount of intensity in his performance. Two of the confrontational scenes between Olaf Lubaszenko and Jedrzej Hycnar who plays the antagonist were well executed. Overall, Justice is a one time watch at best and offers nothing new. It is the performances that drive the film.

I decided to write a review after reading the some of the comments where viewers are criticizing the movie for not being realistic and saying this or that would have normally happened. I am not saying that it's a masterpiece and there were moments when I felt not much was happening and the dialogues weren't adding anything valuable to the movie.

However, when people say in reality there would be cameras and other equipment to record the robber when trying to kill the policeman, then I can give you a short history lesson about Poland. Until 1989 it was a communist country, when the police was called "militia" and was doing whatever they pleased, corruption was unbelievable and you could barely differentiate them from the criminals and the mob. In the early 90s barely anybody had cameras and it was even mentioned in the movie that they wouldn't have any wire at all if not for the old "militia" detective who still knew some people who had the wire van that they were using. Also, the police didn't change right away and for many years a lot of the previous "militia" continued to co-operate with the mob and dealing with things the way they liked.

As for the comments that the heist didn't look realistic (not to mention that "Die Hard" is the real example of what a heist should look like), actually the heist part really happened in Poland and women really came to work in the bank early and were killed because of that. There was no siege, things blowing up or a shoot-out with the police. This is not the US, I have never seen a real gun in my life and it would have been incredibly unrealistic to create something similar to "Die Hard" to take place in Poland :)

Anyway, if you are looking for an action movie, this is not it. And I can understand that people not knowing much about Poland and mostly watching crime films packed with chases, drama, shoot-outs and incredible stunts may not like this movie at all and find it boring. But I can say one thing for sure - it is actually pretty realistic!