How to Rob a Bank is playing in theaters at the time of review. Rated R. Common Sense says 15+
STORY: D
A banal revenge story buried beneath noise and fury.
PEOPLE: C-
Even this great cast can’t turn these one-note characters into music.
FILM NERD STUFF: D
Garish, aggressive editing style strips away the story’s emotional power.
THEME: C
Society should be angry, but is anarchy the answer?
FINAL COMMENTS:
Director David Leitch delivers a heist movie with a twist. These aren’t selfish criminals, looking for one last, big job before retiring to the Caribbean. They have legitimate beef with capitalism and society, and are driving social revolution through social media. But all that doesn’t make them interesting. Sure, you’ll walk away with something to think about—is this the best that society can do?—but it also refuses to develop its characters into genuine humans we can relate to. That hurts the film from an entertainment and thematic point of view.
Younger audiences who've grown up with YouTube as the main component of their media diet may connect to the film’s stylized presentation. But like most social media, any emotion or depth it contains is fleeting and fades away fast.