Art Heist

This effort was like a glitzy TV movie...I don't recall this ever being released in theaters...If so, it must've died a quick death. Watching the DVD, in the comfort of our bedroom, it was obvious this film was meant for not much more...Ed Lauter an art critic with a greed streak? What a fun turn that must've been...I haven't seen Ed since "The Longest Yard"...Everyone else pretty much acted by the numbers, led by Baldwin, except for Pompeo...She had zero charisma and seemed to be sleepwalking thru most of the picture...Pompeo's daughter had one dimension...she played every scene like a lovable little puppy...slowest line delivery of any 3 year old I've seen yet...

The chase scenes gave my wife and I headaches...too much quick-cutting and angle-bashing...If you 're going to shoot a chase scene in Barcelona, you might want a few WIDE shots to exploit the beauty of your backdrop, right? The whole story was pretty implausible and far-fetched, but hey, we liked it better than "The Life Aquatic..."

But it's certainly not very good either. Most of the acting is pretty flat, but I blame that more on the writers' incompetent dialog than on the actors' ability. Ellen Pompeo is pretty, but in such as way to be believable as an art history expert. The plot has enough twists to keep you guessing (and keep watching) and yet enough clues to help you figure it out. That said, it's still pretty trite and implausible. You do get to see some famous Barcelona landmarks, but the filmmakers haven't exploited their locale to the fullest. I thought the chase scenes were fairly well done, except that they all start looking the same after a while.

All-in-all, I'd have to say that the current IMDb rating of 4.1 is fair; several of the reviews here give it a "1", which should be reserved to the worst movies of all time, which this certainly isn't.

I picked up a used DVD copy at a local bookstore hoping to revisit Barcelona. In that sense, "Art Heist" was a bit of a disappointment. It's (barely) worth seeing if you have an interest in art history and in Barcelona and can see it for free, but for those really wanting a sense of this wonderful city, the best bet is "L'Auberge Espagnole".

I don't get it. Ellen Pompeo is dynamic and moving on Grey's Anatomy. What happened? Perhaps its the ensemble she has been placed among. I know why she was cast and what makes this woman is so appealing. This woman has amazing eyes. Even if she wore absolutely no makeup, she would look beautiful and wholesome. I think she belongs in a period piece, a costumer. In a Victorian era film, where the dialog is snappier and the physical acting is more restrained she might fare better.

In any case, Billy Baldwin needs to do something with the hairdo he has been sporting in his last few films. Its like he knows that his early 90s, long in the front, short in the back style is too dated to appear in a film with (not to mention, too young and surfer-dude for him), so he slicks it back which looks even more dated, and a little creepy like Gomez Addams. Baldwin needs to close crop that hair for once, like in a war movie. He has the most interesting face of the Baldwin brood, I just wish he would learn how to act with it.

Baldwin has really stooped low to make such movies. The script, the music, just about everything in this movie is a waste of time.

The sound FX do not sound real, they stick out way too much (technical gadgets etc.) If they are trying to make a movie about things like this, at least try to get real with it and drop those extra bleeps and beeps, because those gadgets don't really make loud sounds like that. Natural sounds like footsteps and such are non-existent, which gives it a void-like atmosphere.

Directing seems to be OK for such a low budget film (I sure hope it was a low budget production), although it does seem fairly amateurish at times.

Most characters seem empty and false, they simply haven't casted this movie very well. I'd imagine it would've been a better idea to make Baldwin speak some Spanish than to make Spanish actors speak English, when we all know that theirs is the language which is more vibrant and alive, that is why the actors performance can suffer greatly if an odd language is used. I mean, could finally someone realise how stupid it sounds to make international actors speak English with a bad accent? It's should've a long ago buried corpse in movie production. The production team ever heard of subtitles? This movie again manages to depict European police as lazy and corrupt, the societies as vulnerable and helpless. I mean if the plot again goes like "The Interpol can't do jack, so let's call one American to bring down this international syndicate" or whatever.

Sony Pictures treads on the same path as Columbia before it, just producing movies for the hell of it. I'd imagine them to have some self respect also. Are buyers supposed to buy every dirty title just because Sony puts out something good a few times a year?! Maybe they should've used the same team as who were making Di Que Si - Say I Do. It's spoken in Spanish and Paz Vega and Santi Millan do a decent job keeping the movie afloat. Looks and sounds much better! Come on Sony, wake up, produce less, sell more.

The quality of "Art Heist" is exactly what one should expect from a direct-to-video title with no A-list actors. The plot is predictable, the twists are both expected and excessive, the acting is deficient, and the action is banal. However, it manages to be entertaining in spite of its flaws, and ultimately fulfills expectations, provided those expectations are low.

The plot actually had some promise but is ultimately crippled by the "shocking reveals" that fail to surprise or even engage much interest. Every single twist is painfully described and explained by monologues and flashbacks, even though someone with severe sleep deprivation (me) could fully comprehend each one long before it happened. The script further detracts from the plot by adding dull and unrealistic dialogue, portrayed in an implausible manner according to the amateurish directing. Tropes and clichés abound, from the flower cart in the chase sequence to William Baldwin's channeling of John McClane, and plot holes larger than the escape pod in Star Wars will frequently cause exclamations of, "Wait, why didn't they..."

As far as the acting, quite frankly, not one of these actors should hold any more than a bit part in any film. Ellen Pompeo is cute and Baldwin gives hope simply because he looks like brother Alec, and perhaps they could do fine with a decent script and nonpareil directing, but believing in their characters (or almost any other character) requires a suspension of disbelief beyond my abilities. The worst of all is the couple's "adorable blond girl," portrayed by the director's daughter in a performance unworthy of a 3rd grade school play (to put it nicely). On the bright side, the actors with two lines or fewer do fine, and Simón Andreu stands out as quietly plausible in his role as a Russian mobster/ art connoisseur.

The main redemption of this film comes from the visuals and sound. Not from the explosions or the ridiculous sound effects, but from the beautiful aerial shots of Barcelona, exquisite interiors, depictions of the art (although limited), and the touching rendition of Mozart's "Introitus Requiem." And it tries so hard to keep viewers in suspense and invested in the characters (or at least in the stolen paintings), that one cannot help feeling slightly entertained.

If you want to see a masterpiece or a useful addition to the genre, you will be disappointed. If you just want to see some blood and boobs with an R rating, you will be disappointed. If you appreciate art and hope to see a film that does the same, well, you will be disappointed. However, if you, like me, simply want to watch something because you're bored, insomniac, out of good movies, and looking to be occupied and mildly amused, then this may be worth your time, if not your money. I love heist movies, from "Flawless" to "The Fast and the Furious," so I don't regret wasting 98 minutes on this film.