By

King of Thieves

Legends blow bank job

A group of elderly and quite unrepentant former jewel thieves learn from a young, tech-savvy would-be yegg of a sure-fire job that could net them multiple millions. Based on true events, this 2015 robbery was, and remains, England’s biggest heist. But ultimately, due to these old-timers’ lack of knowledge of modern-day security technology (a running gag) and pure and simple greed and discord, they were all caught (though most of the swag remains unrecovered). 

It’s a pretty exciting story, and it’s always great to watch character veterans like Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone, Paul Whitehouse and Michael Gambon strut their elderly stuff, But somehow director James Marsh, who has given us The Theory of Everything and Shadow Dancer, has stripped the rich, true tale of any tension and suspense. He promises a fun ride but delivers an oddly bland and joyless procedural. (108 min)

Released in Japan January 15, 2021