High-Octane Heist Thriller
The pedal is pressed hard to the metal for this very stylish high-stakes armed robbery thriller starring Chris Hemsworth.
Director Layton, known for his British film work including the true-crime docudrama about the theft of rare books, returns with a new LA crime thriller adapted from a novella by Don Winslow. The title of his previous film would also have suited this one perfectly. This new movie channels a little of Michael Mann’s style, though it lacks the military hardware and overhead shots of SUVs moving in swift convoy that would make it a full homage to Mann’s work.
Direction and Style
Layton forgoes the distinctive indirect mannerisms and meta-commentaries characteristic of his earlier movies. Instead, he applies his pedal to the metal for what is an enjoyable and very stylish high-stakes armed robbery film. The story centers on a thief who is highly controlled, super-cool, super-groomed, and naturally looking for the “walkaway money” of the time-honoured one last job.
Plot and Characters
The protagonist is Mike, played by Chris Hemsworth, who, with his sleek black performance cars and Glock handguns, commits jewel robberies with the laudably nonviolent precision of a ballet-dancing brain surgeon. Mike is controlled by a leathery old tough guy named Money, portrayed by Nick Nolte, who once mentored Mike out of foster care and into a life of crime.
Mike’s hits follow a pattern along California’s Route 101, a pattern spotted by LAPD’s single honest cop, detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), who is as dishevelled and smart as Columbo.
When things go horribly wrong, Mike develops qualms about the whole business. Money appears ready to replace him with Ormon (Barry Keoghan), an undisciplined, trigger-happy youngster who rides a flashy, attention-attracting motorbike—uncool—and has dyed blond hair (also uncool). The tension escalates when Mike persuades troubled insurance agent Sharon (Halle Berry) to provide inside information for a hugely lucrative job he plans to set up on his own. Meanwhile, Mike cannot bring himself to tell his girlfriend Maya (Monica Barbaro) about his criminal activities.
Social Commentary and Critique
This movie revs its engine entertainingly and loudly, though it is less convincing when it claims the moral high ground of social commentary by perfunctorily showing LA’s homeless population. At one point, Ruffalo’s detective rides a city bus crowded with the city’s low-net-worth individuals.
“What, no Uber?”Overall, however, it is a highly watchable spectacle, leaving a sizzling streak of rubber on the tarmac.
