The poster was haphazard Photoshop montage of cheesy images. I did not know any of the actors except for one -- James Franco. However, I chanced upon part of the trailer, and I thought it had a story which actually looked interesting despite the obvious B-movie vibe. I decided to give it a chance.
A gang of bank robbers (2 females and 3 males) stage a daring heist in Centurion Bank. Frustrated by the small loot they got , the robbers argue among themselves what to do next. Unexpectedly, an intrepid bank employee directs them to go raid the main vault located in the basement because that is where the bulk of cash was stashed. When the robbers break into the old vault, then diabolical events begin to happen.
Well, as could be expected, the acting was so-so, really B-movie level. Taryn Manning was really over-the-top as the more violent, more redneck sister Vee. But to give her credit, her Vee would be scary to encounter at any time. Francesca Eastwood played the total opposite character, cooler and calmer as the fairer sister Leah. You knew their combination was going to explode big time with their latent dislike for each other.
Scott Haze played their sensitive brother Michael for whose debts this whole heist had been planned to pay off. His Michael was very soft-spoken and kind, you can feel why the sisters are doing this for him. However, it did not connect well to why they are doing this at all. There was not enough back story for us to know these siblings better to care about them.
James Franco played the employee Ed, who knew everything about the bank. Franco portrayed the mysterious character relaxed and convincing, as he should. You can tell that Franco knew this was a B-film, and was playing it with cheesy glee. I can't say I did not see the ending coming, but the build-up to the surprise revelations was not bad.
The bags on the head of the hostages do give an unsettling vibe throughout. There are schlocky gory horror parts that can make you look away from the screen. Director Dan Bush was able to give the whole thing a sense of urgency and tension with the camera angles, editing and sound effects mixing. Not that bad as you may think, but undeniably does not rise above being a B-horror flick. 5/10.
I like the robbing story because this shows how much more creativity a writer can get when several many similar movies have been produced like it. It's interesting to see how badly the actors portrayed their characters in the scenes.
ReplyDeleteThe storyline does sound interesting and unique enough. I might watch this if ever it goes on tv.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Bank Robbery I only think of Now You See Me and end up comparing everything with it. I'm sure this movie cannot even be compared to that!
ReplyDeleteI haven't watch this movie. But the story line above looks so interesting. I will definitely check this movie.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched any movies lately. I prefer movies that can make me laugh and has full of actions. Although there is a possibility that I watch this movie because this contains some action scenes, I will still have a doubt because of scary aspects.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this in the cinemas so I guess it didn't make it to Singapore yet~ Taking a break from action though~
ReplyDeleteAlright since it only score 5 out of 10, i skip it then. I am not a fan of horror movie thou.
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