Napad - La rapina

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.

Spoilers:

Well made bank heist movie, plot is decent was based on the Wolow bank robbery but largely fictional, the only real event being just the robbery. The setup was realistic and acting were convincing, plot is classical cops chasing robbers wit competition which is enjoyable with good twists and intensity. For the part were the reviewers were having issues can be explained by the detective being confidence enough and wanted to pin all of them to their crimes instead of just an attempted murder by one. The ending is a bit of a letdown as the weapon is a weak connection since they were wearing gloves at the robbery and there's no proof that they stole it, which needs a better explanation and drama to be more satisfying. Nevertheless it's a recommended movie that had surpassed my expectations.

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!

A particularly brutal bank robbery takes place in Warsaw. So bad that the planned bank merger in the now democratic Poland of 1995 could be at risk. A long-retired police officer from the former secret police named Tadeusz Gadacz (Olaf LUBASZENKO) is suddenly reactivated. His ultra-brutal methods from his communist past could now be useful again. Gadacz is to support the young inspector Aleksandra Janicka (Wiktoria GORODECKA) in her investigations. It quickly becomes clear that the young Kacper Surmiak (Jedrzej HYCNAR) and his two friends Marek (Stanislaw LINOWSKI) and Bartek (Lukasz SZCZEPANOWSKI) could have something to do with the bloody robbery. But in Poland after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a policeman like Gadacz can no longer torture the truth out of them...

The global streaming provider NETFLIX has added a very exciting crime film by Michel GAZDA to its program. It tells very emphatically about the trials and tribulations of the post-reunification period in the former communist Poland. In terms of structure, it is of course very reminiscent of the Spanish crime classic LA ISLA MINIMA from 2014, but is so haunting, moving and unique that watching this heist movie in the guise of a dark social portrait is definitely worth it! The Polish film industry has repeatedly proven in recent years what great genre stories can be discovered there.