Blindés

I was disappointed. I usually like heist movies but this one - "Armored" - was not smart, if you want a heist movie where they put together a great plan for the heist and there is tension to see if the plan will succeed and if they can get away with the money this is not that type of movie.

The heist plan in this film is one that was put together by dumb brutes and is not a focus of the movie. The movie is all about bloody action scenes with guns. Probably the biggest star in the movie is Laurence Fishburne, and he has put on a lot of weight and gotten fat, and none of the acting is all that good for any of the characters. But even as a dumb action movie it isn't anything special or worth seeing.

The war veteran Ty Hackett (Columbus Short) is hired to work as security guard by the Eagle Shield Security where his old friend Mike Cochroone (Matt Dyllon) works. Ty is having financial difficulties after the death of his father and is raising his brother Jimmy (Andre Jamal Kinney) alone. He teams up with Mike's brother-in-law Baines (Laurence Fishburne) and their coworkers Quinn (Jean Reno), Palmer (Amaury Nolasco) and Dobbs (Skeet Ulrich). One night, Mike invites Ty to robber the two armored trucks that will transport forty-two million dollars. The reluctant Ty accepts after the promise of Mike that nobody would be hurt in the heist. They bring the trucks to an old mill and hide the money in a hole; however their operation is witnessed by a tramp. Baines shots the man with his shotgun and Ty decides to help him; but when Mike executes the homeless man, Ty locks himself inside a truck with half the amount.

"Armored" is an action movie about an almost perfect plan to heist two armored trucks by the security guards that should protect the transported money. The key character is the ambiguous Ty, a man that is facing financial difficulties in his private life that accept to participate in the heist but betrays his friends. Therefore, the hero of "Armored" is actually a traitor that is rewarded in the end. This unlikable character should have been better developed in the screenplay to give a better explanation for his despicable attitude (the betrayal). On the other hand, the naiveness of the five experienced men inviting a newcomer on the eve of the scheduled date of a heist sounds very unreasonable. It is impressive how fat Laurence Fishburne is. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Assalto ao Carro Blindado" ("Heist of the Armored Car")

OK I'm not sure I can even fill out the 10 lines required for the review.

This is a totally wasted effort. Don't bother going to the movies. Heck don't even download this from Torrent.I think Jean Reno, Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne did this movie to get some Vegas money.

There is no story. Screenplay is jarring. Forget Direction. Sucks. I went in thinking I'll get something like 'The Bank Job' or 'The Insider' but apparently bank robbers are getting dumber by the day.

If you want a thriller, just sit and home and watch Heat all over again. This is not worth the effort.

This is one of those movies I will not say is good, nor bad. It is a very mediocre film. The cast is what, pretty much holds it together. I have surely seen better scripts, and story lines. The action scenes are decent. ...And, oh yeah....why would anyone freakin' care that Laurence Fishburne has gained weight??? Really?!?! That is pure, ignorant, moronic, delusional, immature reasons to not like a movie. Very petty. Get a life. It is really sad, to see that we, in general think like that. Larry is still a strong actor.

My overall reaction to this film, is to go see it as an 'early bird', Matinée, or wait for it on DVD.

Armored tells the story of a few armored truck company workers who conjure a plan to steal 42 million dollars that they were suppose to transport. To pull this off, they need Ty, an Iraq war veteran who just joined the company. At first, Ty refuses to be a part of the scheme, but he desperately needs the money since he's in risk of loosing his house and his little brother might be taken away from him. Ty ends up agreeing with the all thing, but not before Mike, the leader of the guards, promise that no one will get hurt... Armored is a fast-moving heist film with a good amount of action and some unpredictable twists. Obviously, everyone can tell that things are not going to go smoothly but still, there are a few surprises and the film doesn't become predictable at any point. Looking at the cast of Armored, which is comprised by very well known actors like Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburn and Matt Dillon, one might expect a tremendous film given the quality of the actors, but that's not case. I'm not saying it's a bad film, it's not by any means but, it's not a film with depth either. If you're expecting something like that you'll be disappointed. This is a popcorn movie, there's not much to think about here, just turn your brain off and enjoy it. The acting was average with the exception of Matt Dillon who really stood out as the leader of the "bad guys". His character is a mean son of a bitch and Dillon played the role perfectly. The film fell a bit short in the third act though because the ending seemed a bit rushed. Bottom line is, Armored is entertaining and therefor a good watch, just make sure you know what kind film you're about to see.

6/10