The first thing to say is that a movie has to draw you in to the story within the first few minutes. This one failed to do that. But that's really only the first of many problems. I'm going to highlight just a couple of them - one was, to me, a huge problem with the story; the second was just something that bugged me personally because it was just so absolutely stupid on the part of whoever came up with it.
The major issue for me was that this particular gang of thieves didn't strike me as having the intellectual wattage to successfully steal $100 from a convenience store; never mind $10 million from a major bank. There's the old couple (Joss Ackland and Grace Zabriskie) whose relationship with the leader of the group is never really explained, except that he flew some combat in Vietnam and can therefore fly the getaway plane. We also discover that they're horny enough to get it on in the airplane while they're waiting for everybody to show up to make their escape. There's the apparently brainless Hoop (Doug Hutchison) - who's so out of control that he can't possibly be of much use to the group. Then there's the leader himself, Tyrone (Stellan Skarsgaard) who's the bright light of the group I guess but who still is quite willing to leave his lady friend Erin (Milla Jovovich) (whom he met when she was an aspiring musician in Russia) alone with Jack the cop (Samuel L. Jackson) so that he can teach her how to play the cello while she's holding him hostage. This is just plain dumb, which made it completely unbelievable that the gang could get as far as they did. That's the major complaint about the story. Now for the personal irritant.
As the movie comes to an end, Tyrone, Erin and Jack approach the Canadian border. The scenes at the border are absolutely ludicrous and show how little homework was done by those who made the movie. First, the border crossing was identified as Sudbury. Sudbury? Did anybody bother looking at a list of border crossings, or, better yet, a map? Sudbury is in northern Ontario. The nearest border crossing would be more than 4 hours away! Did anybody bother doing just a little bit of research about Canada Border Services? CBS agents wear dark blue uniforms, not the grey uniforms used here, which makes them look a bit like sheriff's deputies in the southern US. The shootout at the end is also highly unlikely, given that in 2002 CBS agents didn't carry guns! Maybe somebody should have checked into these things?
This is a terrible crime drama. It might have worked as a sort of whimsical heist movie, but that wasn't the intent. It was a crime drama - and a sad one! (2/10)
The major issue for me was that this particular gang of thieves didn't strike me as having the intellectual wattage to successfully steal $100 from a convenience store; never mind $10 million from a major bank. There's the old couple (Joss Ackland and Grace Zabriskie) whose relationship with the leader of the group is never really explained, except that he flew some combat in Vietnam and can therefore fly the getaway plane. We also discover that they're horny enough to get it on in the airplane while they're waiting for everybody to show up to make their escape. There's the apparently brainless Hoop (Doug Hutchison) - who's so out of control that he can't possibly be of much use to the group. Then there's the leader himself, Tyrone (Stellan Skarsgaard) who's the bright light of the group I guess but who still is quite willing to leave his lady friend Erin (Milla Jovovich) (whom he met when she was an aspiring musician in Russia) alone with Jack the cop (Samuel L. Jackson) so that he can teach her how to play the cello while she's holding him hostage. This is just plain dumb, which made it completely unbelievable that the gang could get as far as they did. That's the major complaint about the story. Now for the personal irritant.
As the movie comes to an end, Tyrone, Erin and Jack approach the Canadian border. The scenes at the border are absolutely ludicrous and show how little homework was done by those who made the movie. First, the border crossing was identified as Sudbury. Sudbury? Did anybody bother looking at a list of border crossings, or, better yet, a map? Sudbury is in northern Ontario. The nearest border crossing would be more than 4 hours away! Did anybody bother doing just a little bit of research about Canada Border Services? CBS agents wear dark blue uniforms, not the grey uniforms used here, which makes them look a bit like sheriff's deputies in the southern US. The shootout at the end is also highly unlikely, given that in 2002 CBS agents didn't carry guns! Maybe somebody should have checked into these things?
This is a terrible crime drama. It might have worked as a sort of whimsical heist movie, but that wasn't the intent. It was a crime drama - and a sad one! (2/10)