How to Rob a Bank

I really enjoyed this documentary. It's not often a documentary directly recruits the perpetrators to explain their side of the story, and it's even rarer where you end up routing for the bad guys. What's unique about this doc is that it really explains how these group of bank robbers were not hardened criminals but rather an eclectic group of educated misfits, and used their smarts to, well, outsmart the banks and the cops and eventually FBI for so long.

What's also nice is that this doc is very honest. The cops made mistakes. They aren't perfect and they aren't exactly Americas brightest (only need a high school degree and a few weeks of training to be a cop). They also got very trigger happy in the end. These robbers were yes, robbers. But they never hurt anyone. They never shot anyone. Never hit them, never took hostages etc. However the police and by extension the feds really wanted to scare the banks/public into thinking Hollywood was this violent unhinged monster just waiting to snap in the hopes they would get tips coming in as to who these guys were, when all evidence contradicted this notion. They end up having a shoot out against guys with jammed guns, lying that they shot first. You can't fire an unloaded or jammed weapon... so how could they "shoot first". Then the story changed to, "we saw them carrying a rifle in the van's rear window" despite them clearly stating numerous times the windows we blacked out and you could not look through any of the windows except the front windshield...

Then when one of the robbers offs themselves, the police then fire 76 freaking rounds into the corpse. Absolutely disgusting. What isn't stated in this documentary (but stated in other videos, look it up) is that a by standard got hit from the police reckless, excessive rounds.

Great documentary. Definitely very cool to learn how these guys planned their heists and strategized to evade the police for long.

A deep look into a bandit's life who lived in a time ahead of his actual era. Whole mission was to paint this notorious criminal in a different shade that's not seen by many. In any reality theft is severely damaging but looking at Scott's behavior, his approach and his giving back signs us towards a rebellious side of the character. He engaged in a chaotic, unbeatable battle with a behemoth that most people can't even look at, much less yell at. So this reunion of both sides to narrate explicitly how Hollywood's story went down is greatly entertaining. Excellent visuals and footage. Makes this documentary well worth the time.

True crime doc based on a string of bank robberies in 90s Seattle, this is a decent show coming in at 86 mins. Anything more would have been too drawn out, glad they decided not to go the three episode route with this story.

There's not much to watch visually; while there are some old clips and photos used, the doc mainly uses old audio and interviews from the present time. Several motion posters have also been used. So, you can either play it in the background or if you'd rather 'watch this as a podcast', that'll work too. If you have 1.5 hrs to spare and aren't sure what watch as a true crime content enthusiast, this should be on your list.

I wonder if Netflix true crime docs are all beginning to look and sound the same.

It was an interesting and well done documentary, but the major flaw was that it tended to make a hero out of the villain.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

A very good crime documentary, and a story that holds you from start to finish. From Olympia, Washington, home of Nirvana and grunge music, the bank robber dubbed "Hollywood" was born.

After reading Ann Rule's book "The End of the Dream, The Golden Boy Who Never Grew Up" I was fascinated with the story of Scott Scurlock and his band of merry cohorts. You can learn how his friends grew to love him and were prepared to be a part of his plans. Much more in depth, especially his early years in college. I don't condone what he did by any stretch of the imagination, but his story is a very compelling one.