The thing that made me make a bit of an effort to see it is the cast. I mean, if you’ve got Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent and Michael Gambon surely it’s going to be a hum dinger!
Alas, whilst this British heist movie isn’t very bad it also isn’t very good. It’s definitely watchable if you happen upon it, but should you make plans to shell out $40+ to see it at the cinema? Nah.
I was the youngest person in the cinema by about 20 years when I saw this so I did wonder to myself whether it’s just that I’m not the target audience. Maybe it’s for Caine’s contemporaries? But I don’t think so. They’re tough critics, the blue rinse set.
The film is full of great actors who do perform quite well despite not having been given much to work with. There’s a moment where Broadbent’s character picks up a chair and throws it in rage but I just didn’t buy it.
A quick plot summary from www.imdb.com: “A true crime film about a crew of retired crooks who pull off a major heist in London's jewelry district. What starts off as their last criminal hurrah quickly turns into a brutal nightmare due to greed. Based on infamous true events.”
Here’s a two star review from new.com.au if you want to read more. Two star reviews seem quite common for this one.
King Of Thieves is rated M and in cinemas now. Trailer here.