When a bank is hit by a brutal heist, all evidence points to the owner and his high-powered clients. But as a group of FBI agents dig deeper into the case - and the deadly heists continue - it becomes clear that a larger conspiracy is at play. No that is not a typo, I meant to write that. The sum of it all does not amount to what some of it is worth it. And I'm talking as a stand alone. If you've been keeping tabs on Bruce Willis you may have noticed him popping up in the odd movie or two in the recent past. Everybody needs money of course, though some do not look kindly on someone like Bruce giving his name to some of the projects he participated in. This movie can be seen as one of the better ones he chose.<br/><br/>Putting that out of the way and the fact, he has a couple of interesting scenes, playing it mostly safe, still being effective, there are quite a few people here. But not many get really taken advantage of as much as it would be possible. And I'm not even talking Torrie Wilson or others who have very short appearances in this. No, I mean people like Bautista, Adrian G. or Jonathan Schaech. Although the latter may have the best of it. After a weak introduction, he gets quite a bit of screen time. And he delivers. Anyway, the movie is suspenseful enough to keep you interested all the way through, but it's not a real highlight. Something it could've been – despite a fine lead performance by Meloni.<br/><br/>Which is too bad, really, because the cinematography is quite good (digital's getting closer to celluloid every year) and a few of the supporting roles are well-acted (Grenier's in particular).<br/><br/>But then there's the story. Oh mother of God the story… <br/><br/>SPOILERS AHEAD!<br/><br/>It's something about a shady bank president, played by Bruce Willis, whose banks keep getting robbed in particularly brutal fashion. The trail leads the tough FBI agent in charge of the investigation (Meloni) to members of an elite special forces team and then – wait for it - - to ANOTHER special forces team, both of which are tied in, somehow, with the kidnapping and murder of Willis's younger brother several years before. <br/><br/>A corrupt Ohio Senator and a missing-and-presumed dead ex-special forces op also figure in the (incomprehensible) proceedings.<br/><br/>I defy anyone to see this movie once and summarize the plot line. It's like the filmmakers tried to pack 4 hours worth of story into a 2- hour running time, and failed in the attempt. <br/><br/>All in all, a missed opportunity. I happen to love smart intense heist movies (such as HEAT, THE TOWN, THIEF, etc), but this wasn't one of them. Marauders lays out a scenario in the first 40 minutes or so that, oddly enough, makes you think “this is not an entirely uninteresting premise for a thriller.” But after that, things devolve into “this is extremely far-fetched” and, finally, “this is goofy.”
Yamarjaese replied
365 weeks ago