I'm Always Up For A "Heist" Film

Heist (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gina Carano, Dave Bautista, Robert DeNiro, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Morris Chestnut, Kate Bosworth, D.B. Sweeney, Stephen Sepher

Directed by Scott Mann

The Story:

Vaughn (Morgan) needs a ton of money to save his little girl. So he goes to see his old boss, The Pope (DeNiro) who feels bad, but not bad enough to compromise on his principles to never give money to charity. Vaughn then turns to Cox (Bautista) who works at the casino and they hatch a plan to rob the casino. When the driver bails on them, the criminals end up hijacking a bus and taking the passengers hostage. Now it's a high stakes game of cat and mouse as they must elude the authorities and The Pope's men for a clean getaway.

Okay, so if you're going to make a heist film and call it Heist, it better be good.

From my point of view, it was.

: )

Your mileage may vary of course, but I quite liked this one from start to finish.

It starts with a strong cast, and there isn't much of a problem with that in this film. DeNiro can do the tough mob boss in his sleep, but he puts just enough heart and remorse to his character that you can understand why he makes the decisions that he does as the film moves forward.

Morgan is the emotional anchor and focal point of the film. Faced with the prospect of losing his daughter, he is determined to do whatever it takes, by any means necessary. Bautista doesn't get to do much acting like he did in Guardians of the Galaxy, here he mostly yells and spits a lot.

While this would be typecasting or typical of most WWE wrestlers turned actors, Dave has already shown much potential and heart as an actor and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

That said, he will grate on your nerves in this film, and that is both intentional, and necessary, to the overall narrative.

As you'll notice by the cast listed above, they all have numerous parts which all play pivotal roles in the film.

But remember, this is a heist film, so any plot twists and turns that you're expecting, or not expecting, are best enjoyed as spoiler-free as possible.

A few tweaks here and there, this movie could have been in contention for best of the year honors.

That said, it's a solid movie and I'd be willing to own it or watch it again in the future.

Final Grade: B