Heist

The formula could not have been more stereotyped: An ex-criminal (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan) gets his life together for his daughter who needs a quarter of a million dollar surgery. He ask his boss(played by Robert De Niro). His boss not only says no but fires him, leaving the ex-con no choice but to go back to his old ways and steel from his boss with the help of an inside man(played by Dave Bautista). The perfect plan goes horribly wrong and now they are being chased by a sympathetic, cop (played by Gina Carano).

It's a plot done a million times, but I have to admit, the characters on the screen are a little more in depth than you'd usually have in such an action thriller. Does not hurt that the characters were performed well by some decent talent. Even De Niro gave a good performance, as he usually phones in these "for the pay check" rolls, but he made me feel something for the character he plays. Though Bautista still needs some work on the dramatic stuff, Jeffery Dean Morgan has the charisma to keep you interested, and a nod to Morris Chestnut, who did put a nice twist on the henchmen concept he played.

So it's like if you combined Heat and Speed and then watered it down a butch, but overall, it was a good crime drama to watch.

"It's not like someone's gonna go crying to the police about someone stealing their dirty cash." Vaughn (Morgan) is struggling financially and things get worse when his sick daughter is endanger of being taken off the transplant list if he doesn't have the money soon. He asks his former boss, a man known as The Pope (De Niro) for a loan and is denied. Left with no options he decides to take the money forcefully, but he didn't expect the getaway to get this out of hand. I had pretty low expectations for this movie, not for any reason but usually these B movies with famous actors tend to only have the big name in it for 5 minutes and the rest is boring and unexciting. This is a rare exception. De Niro has a fair amount of screen time and Morgan is in almost ever scene. The movie is both action packed and emotional. The best way to describe this is as a more intense John Q. A movie where you can't help but root for the father even though what he is doing is illegal. This is a very exciting movie to watch and I was surprised at the quality of it. It's easy to see why this wasn't a big release but as far as a straight to video movie this is one of the best ones I have seen. I recommend this. I give it a B+.

I am rating this movie for what it is, an action flick. This is not the archetypal Oscar selects we see, no deep exploration of the soul or clever vignettes about ordinary people in ordinary situations. This is an action flick.

In that context this movie check all right boxes. Cinematography: good, sound track: good, acting is..yes...its also good. But what makes this movie a 8/10 you may ask, why group this movie with so many other supposedly profound films? If you are willing to appreciate the action genre, i.o.w give this movie a fair shot you will judge it upon its ability to keep you thrilled and guessing (the holy grail of action movies). And this is where this movie succeeds.

"Heist" a/k/a "Bus 657" offers strong performances and decent production values. The script has several strengths. The characters are interesting and multifaceted and the dialogue is good. The characters are given backstories and complex histories with one another, but those histories aren't developed sufficiently for the audience to understand some of the choices the characters make.

Some aspects seem contrived, such as the girl's critical illness and urgent need for surgery that somehow leaves her appearing healthy and rosy-cheeked, the hospital's ultimatum or the lack of other options like crowd-sourcing fundraisers. One plot device seemed much more appropriate in a 1990 Bill Murray comedy than a gritty action film. A feared gangster takes extraordinary steps to prevent anybody from ever imagine they can steal from him, but is robbed twice in a week. The casino seems to have less security for its cash than most casinos have on their alcohol.

One wishes filmmakers would take the time to do some rudimentary research. There are numerous images on Google of one million dollars in hundred-dollar bills. If half the money were in twenties, it would take up three times as much space. Used bills occupy possibly twenty percent more space than new bills. If a character runs around with a bag that's too small to hold the amount of money it's supposed to hold, people are likely to wonder where the rest of the money is.

The script has more holes than Emmentaler. At times the characters seem to act without any comprehensible motive. At other times, they have very real and believable motives. The script has a couple of nice twists, although they really need a better foundation than a brief allusion or quick background shot to make them seem believable. It would have been nice to get to know some of the passengers, particularly as they make choices that impact the outcome.

With a little more effort and development, it could have been a really good script. Strong performances by Morgan and De Niro and interesting turns by Bautista and Chestnut make the film a worthwhile viewing experience.

The movie itself is very predictable. Even a twist is not that much of a twist, though it doesn't really make much sense if you think about it. But all is carried throughout the length of the movie, because you have some really strong actors in this. You can also question the morality of it and how it deals with certain things.

But it's just a movie and the characters may be plain (most of them), but that's why this isn't top rated either. It's a nice little thriller movie, which might think it's more than it is, but that's OK. It's better to set higher goals, than just aiming too low. Even with the misses and flaws, this still can be enjoyed