American Heist (2015)

Pretty Good

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

American Heist is a low rent Canadian thriller about, you guessed it, a team of robbers teaming up to pull the ultimate in bank heists. It's an overworked genre for sure and the best this B-movie can do is add a couple of recognisable actors to the cast. Sadly, it turns out to be an absolutely brain-dead piece of entertainment thanks to the awful script, which thinks incessant profanity is a good substitute for wit and realism.Hayden Christensen, the ill-fated star of the STAR WARS prequels who quickly faded into obscurity thereafter, is the film's slightly obnoxious lead. Obscuring him at every turn is Adrien Brody, a far distance from his work in Polanski's THE PIANIST. Brody somehow gives a good performance despite his foul-mouthed and moronic dialogue, and he's one of the reasons I kept watching. The actual heist scene isn't too bad, but it's late in the day when it takes place and there's a lot of long-winded relationship stuff and melodrama to get through before that point.

To all the negative reviewers, what exactly were you hoping for that this film didn't deliver? It's possible you're missing the point. This film is fun. Just fun. Not amazing, nothing you haven't seen before, just a good time. Bit like the Fast & Furious films, really, they're fun too. And nothing more. This film even has Jordanna Brewster, and Hayden Christensen, who is an almost identikit version of Paul Walker's character in the F&F films.Things I liked about this film:- 1. Adrien Brody. He's great in everything. He was the reason I watched this, and is now the reason I'm glad I watched it.2. The Heist scene.3. A scene involving a helicopter.4. The dialogue. There are a lot of good one liners in this film, including the one in the title of this review. There's also a good one liner about some toothpaste.So if you're scrolling through Netflix, as I was, looking for something enjoyable to fill up a bit of down time, check this out. And don't take it too seriously.

This movie was a let down, and had huge potential. The combination of Hayden and Jordana Brewster's romance could have been something memorable, and Adrien Brody's performance was outstanding. The bond between Adrien and Hayden's character was there, but wasn't executed properly due to the lack of a powerful story. The story and direction of the movie is what drove this movie into the ground. There's barely any motivation for the characters, and recurring cliché and predictable moments. There are a few moments were it is "supposed" to be comical, but due to the lacking nature of the third act, nothing is really funny. However, I'd love to see Hayden, Adrien and Jordana in another film together.

This film actually falls into more the Midnight Cowboy or Taxi Driver genre rather than the typical heist film. It's not slick, sexy gadgety or with any super villain or super cop. That's probably what most people look for: a fast-paced sexy thrill of a heist. But it is again, more comparable to Midnight Cowboy or Taxi Driver, not quite in that class but you get the message. It's about the odd people getting the short stick in life. They may fail because they simply may not grasp what it takes to succeed in this world nor are given any advantages in life. Adrien Brody and Hayden Christiansen play the destitute down-on-luck brothers. Hayden plays James, the more balanced one who tries to lead a normal life. Older brother Frankie is more like the good-for-nothing lowlife career criminal. Quite similar to Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman's (Ratso) characters in Cowboy except Frankie and James served time. In Cowboy, Ratso was the con man bringing Joe Buck for the ride. In the same respect, Frankie takes James for a ride. How ungrounded and unsuccessful Frankie is signified by stealing a yellow lemon of a car. It breaks down. It's almost comical. Frankie raves that no one will notice the yellow car is stolen. But in reality, the audience knows, it is far too conspicuous. Frankie might as well wear prison orange. So the viewer can take note unfortunately such rides don't have basis in reality but only lead to dead ends.American Heist doesn't come close to those masterpieces but it tries. Unfortunately many viewers may miss the point. James tries to lead a normal life, seeks a bank loan and starts a relationship with Emily played by Jordana Brewster. Acting is superb by Brody who doesn't get a nod for a superb performance. Jordana Brewster comes close and Hayden Christiansen (should we take him seriously as an actor?) actually is creditable in his straight role.Problems? For one, the long slow pre-death scene that almost goes nowhere and the Akon soundtrack. It tries to be almost an art-house type heist but also falls a bit short of most people's expectations. But view it for the what it really is: a movie about down-and-outs. Real rating: 7.2-7.5, could be the best crime movie of the year but who notices? I bump it up due to low ratings which this film doesn't deserve. Plenty of good films get missed the first time. It might be a decade before anyone notices.