Bus 657: el escape del siglo

Great performances performances by DeNiro, Morgan and Bautista.

I feel some parts needed a little more 'oomph' as it felt dragged out a bit - a directing issue perhaps, by novice director Scott Mann, but forgivable seeing this was his 2nd full length feature film.

The screenplay could've used some tweaking, but the story itself was great - both by novice writer Stephen C. Sepher.

I just wish I heard less of the overbearing constant score that needed to be toned down, but otherwise, an enjoyable crime drama - a gangster film with heart, and a well deserved 8/10 from me

"Heist" a/k/a "Bus 657" offers strong performances and decent production values. The script has several strengths. The characters are interesting and multifaceted and the dialogue is good. The characters are given backstories and complex histories with one another, but those histories aren't developed sufficiently for the audience to understand some of the choices the characters make.

Some aspects seem contrived, such as the girl's critical illness and urgent need for surgery that somehow leaves her appearing healthy and rosy-cheeked, the hospital's ultimatum or the lack of other options like crowd-sourcing fundraisers. One plot device seemed much more appropriate in a 1990 Bill Murray comedy than a gritty action film. A feared gangster takes extraordinary steps to prevent anybody from ever imagine they can steal from him, but is robbed twice in a week. The casino seems to have less security for its cash than most casinos have on their alcohol.

One wishes filmmakers would take the time to do some rudimentary research. There are numerous images on Google of one million dollars in hundred-dollar bills. If half the money were in twenties, it would take up three times as much space. Used bills occupy possibly twenty percent more space than new bills. If a character runs around with a bag that's too small to hold the amount of money it's supposed to hold, people are likely to wonder where the rest of the money is.

The script has more holes than Emmentaler. At times the characters seem to act without any comprehensible motive. At other times, they have very real and believable motives. The script has a couple of nice twists, although they really need a better foundation than a brief allusion or quick background shot to make them seem believable. It would have been nice to get to know some of the passengers, particularly as they make choices that impact the outcome.

With a little more effort and development, it could have been a really good script. Strong performances by Morgan and De Niro and interesting turns by Bautista and Chestnut make the film a worthwhile viewing experience.

The formula could not have been more stereotyped: An ex-criminal (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan) gets his life together for his daughter who needs a quarter of a million dollar surgery. He ask his boss(played by Robert De Niro). His boss not only says no but fires him, leaving the ex-con no choice but to go back to his old ways and steel from his boss with the help of an inside man(played by Dave Bautista). The perfect plan goes horribly wrong and now they are being chased by a sympathetic, cop (played by Gina Carano).

It's a plot done a million times, but I have to admit, the characters on the screen are a little more in depth than you'd usually have in such an action thriller. Does not hurt that the characters were performed well by some decent talent. Even De Niro gave a good performance, as he usually phones in these "for the pay check" rolls, but he made me feel something for the character he plays. Though Bautista still needs some work on the dramatic stuff, Jeffery Dean Morgan has the charisma to keep you interested, and a nod to Morris Chestnut, who did put a nice twist on the henchmen concept he played.

So it's like if you combined Heat and Speed and then watered it down a butch, but overall, it was a good crime drama to watch.

You would think that a film with the title Heist in it would be all about that. Instead we get a simple robbery that does not go as planned and where three gang members end up on a bus. And where they are forced to keep the passengers hostage.

As intriguing as this sounds it gets downhill from here. Most events are predictable to a tee apart from a few surprises that do help redeem this flick somewhat. But seriously with a cast like this I can't but help to be disappointed. With names like Robert De Niro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Morris Chestnut, D. B. Sweeney, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Kate Bosworth I expected a little more. Not much but come one what we got from this film is almost unacceptable. The only reason why I kept watching is because of the sincerity of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character. He only is involved since he needs the money for his daughter's surgery who has cancer. I am a sucker for that kind of melodrama especially if some of the main characters sell it well. I am not entirely sold on Gina Carano yet but I liked her part in this. For me it was far better than her role in breakthrough film Haywire. All the other actors are wasted. What happened to Robert De Niro? Why is he still acting? It does not seem like he is enjoying himself. He hasn't brought his A game in a long while now and it does not look he is going to very soon. It's almost embarrassing to see him like this. At least we were spared that 50 Cent was not involved.

Most of the film plays out as you expect and the action is decent enough but nothing really special. For a film with a duration of 90 minutes it feels like it takes forever. This is due to lack of real tension and build up of suspense. How can it be if director Scott Mann plays it safe and goes for the ending everyone can live with.

This is one of those movies that is decent enough when it is on television. I don't think this is worth seeing in theaters or watching on DVD or bluray.

"It's not like someone's gonna go crying to the police about someone stealing their dirty cash." Vaughn (Morgan) is struggling financially and things get worse when his sick daughter is endanger of being taken off the transplant list if he doesn't have the money soon. He asks his former boss, a man known as The Pope (De Niro) for a loan and is denied. Left with no options he decides to take the money forcefully, but he didn't expect the getaway to get this out of hand. I had pretty low expectations for this movie, not for any reason but usually these B movies with famous actors tend to only have the big name in it for 5 minutes and the rest is boring and unexciting. This is a rare exception. De Niro has a fair amount of screen time and Morgan is in almost ever scene. The movie is both action packed and emotional. The best way to describe this is as a more intense John Q. A movie where you can't help but root for the father even though what he is doing is illegal. This is a very exciting movie to watch and I was surprised at the quality of it. It's easy to see why this wasn't a big release but as far as a straight to video movie this is one of the best ones I have seen. I recommend this. I give it a B+.