Today’s quick review: Heist. Desperate for a way to pay for his daughter’s cancer treatment, casino dealer Luke Vaughn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) partners with Jason Cox (Dave Bautista), an erratic criminal, to steal $3 million from his casino. However, when the heist goes wrong, the thieves are forced to take a bus full of civilians hostage. Now Vaughn must improvise to stay ahead of both the police and Mr. Pope (Robert De Niro), the owner of the casino.
Heist is a budget action movie about a casino robbery that turns into a hostage standoff on a commuter bus. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as Luke Vaughn, a good man forced into a dangerous situation to save his daughter’s life. His clever attempts to negotiate with Officer Bauhaus (Gina Carano), keep Cox from doing anything rash, and avoid Pope’s lackeys are the backbone of the movie. However, otherwise lackluster execution keeps Heist from standing out.
Heist suffers from the same problems as other budget action movies. Most of the acting is stiff and unconvincing. The stunts are nothing special. The dialogue has a few rough spots, and the plot does not hang together as tightly as it should. Still, Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes for a likable, resourceful protagonist as Vaughn, while Robert De Niro lends a touch of thematic depth as Pope, an aging crime boss who begins to regret his life choices.
Heist has flickers of potential that other budget movies usually lack, but its overall execution still falls short of the mark. Forgiving viewers will find it to be a modest but effective story about a criminal trying to think his way out of a tight spot. More critical viewers will find it outclassed by movies that use similar ideas with a defter touch.
For a tense action thriller set on a bus, try Speed. For a more elaborate film about a hostage standoff, try Inside Man. For one with more heart, try Dog Day Afternoon. For a casino robbery with a better plot and more style, try Ocean’s Eleven or Ocean’s Thirteen.
6.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for a decent plot and a pair of good performances held back by otherwise mediocre execution.