American Heist (Review)
United States/2014
Format Viewed For Review: Netflix Instant
Netflix Streaming: Yes
Amazon Prime: No
"...one of the most generic films I've seen in a long time."
When
his older brother, Frankie (Adrien Brody), is released from prison,
James (Hayden Christensen), a man working to turn his life around,
spirals back into a life of crime...
American Heist is a very
generic crime film. The film follows James and Frankie. The brothers
have a troubled relationship, especially due to a crime the duo
committed years ago — Frankie serving ten years, James getting spared
with 16 months. Anyway, James is working on getting his life back
together when Frankie is released from prison. Of course, Frankie drags
his younger brother into a risky scheme — a bank heist. James is
reluctant, but his brother's "associates" hold him with few options —
basically, help or everyone he loves will die. It's stuff we've seen a
million times before, really. The climax, the actual heist, is decent
and the ending was okay. The ending was a bit abrupt, though, it almost
felt like the writer just got tired and gave up.
American Heist
isn't a horrible film. It's actually decently made. The acting is more
than serviceable, the climax is exciting, and the ending was decent.
Unfortunately, as you can see, most of the good stuff doesn't occur
until the final act. The rest of the film suffers greatly from the
utterly cliché story. The generic plot does nothing to differentiate
itself from other movies in the genre. The characters are cutouts from
other films, there is no character development, and most of the film is
deprived of suspense. To be blunt, the film is boring — and I feel
that's worse than being bad. I mean, a poorly made film can at least be
entertaining, whereas a boring film is, well, boring. It's like watching
the same heist movie with different actors and, in some cases, less
character and charm. It's just so bare-bones and hollow.
The acting
is decent, though. There are some minor issues here and there, but I
didn't think it was bad. Hayden Christensen is tolerable, but he really
lacks conviction and charm. Adrien Brody was good, I felt like he was
really immersed in his character. The film looks decent and sounds okay —
at times, it kind of just looks and feels like a music video. Writer
Raul Inglis pens a dull and uninspired screenplay. Although the
structure is fine, the plot is severely lacking in character and
originality. Director Sarik Andreasyan knows how to craft a film and he
pulled some decent performances from his cast, but he failed to develop a
real connection with the audience and the suspense was weak. However, I
think Andreasyan has the skill to make a competent film, he just needs
to work with better scripts.
Overall, American Heist is a
mediocre film. It's a competently-made film with a decent final act and
cast. The rest of the film, on the other hand, is boring and uninspired.
This is one of the most generic films I've seen in a long time. If you
haven't seen many films in the genre, maybe you'll enjoy it a bit more.
Otherwise, I can't recommend anything more than a steam on Netflix.
Score: 4/10
Parental Guide: Violence and blood, some brief sexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment