Loophole

Thief Mike Daniels (Albert Finney) plans to break into the biggest bank in England for one last haul. His team sets up a false office in order to interview architects with the idea they can coax the suitable candidate into mapping out their underground digging job. Down-on-his-luck American Stephen Booker (Martin Sheen) seems to be the ideal candidate for the job, but he scoffs at the idea of being a criminal. That is until he finds out his wife (Susannah York) reallllly wants to start up her interior decorating business. OH NOES! So he descends (literally) into a life of crime in order to finance her dream. The "loophole" of the title refers to the fact they will break into the vault through the ground and set off a motion detector, but when the cops arrive they will see no one inside the bank and think it is glitch. I'm a sucker for bank heist pictures for some reason and this one definitely falls into that category. Unfortunately, while it has a great cast and is well made, it really takes no risks. There is some tension in the final third as rain starts to flood the sewer system and the men must rush to get out, but even that is handled rather mundanely. Sheen also sticks out like a sore thumb and it is easy to believe the role was written for a British fellow (his wife is a Brit after all) and then changed to an American to increase potential markets. Still, it is worth a look at least once if you loves you some men digging in confined spaces.

Ignore the low scores, this is a good film.

It's dated and seems a bit wobbly here and there, but the script and acting are excellent.

I understand why they used Martin Sheen, not because he is a fine actor, it was to get financing and possibly attract a US audience.

The movie shows that even honest people can be lured by the 'Big Payday', and commit crime. This is what the movies premise revolves around, and does it well. Martin Sheen, an architect, finds himself in a situation, where financially he is stretched by his families lavish lifestyle. He's approached to help a band of crooks pull off a heist in a banks security box room. Initially he is duped into thinking he is employed to help extend an office building, but discovers it's a ruse.

He confronts the leader of the crooks and reveals he has worked out the ruse, then is told of the real reason they approached him. He refuses to help, at first, but after his bank threatens to foreclose on his mortgage, and he realises his kids would have to leave their private schools, he agrees to help.

What follows is a classic mix of heist, greed, desperation and redemption.

I hope you watch this movie and make your own mind up.

It could do with being redone with modern techniques, script and a bigger budget.

LOOPHOLE has a nifty concept that sounds too good to be true, yet impossible. The unemployed American architect (Sheen) comes to England to devise a plan on robbing the safe from under the city sewers at a British bank. It actually works until.... Along the line, it's more of an adventure than a crime film, but with stars such as Albert Finney and Martin Sheen, don't get too excited about it. This really isn't your typical "bad guy" movie, rather it is tame and subtle. Both actors in their time were known to perform in novelish dramatic roles that appealed mostly to the adult crowd, so there's no modern class here, but maybe Susannah York's towel dropping scene might grab your attention. The end is peculiar and uncertain, right after you've gone through seeing a successful heist well done. All in all, an interesting movie, but if early 80s dramatic acting performances isn't your cup of tea, then you will find LOOPHOLE to be pretty boring.

Another heist movie. This is a cut above average with an excellent cast: acclaimed British film and stage actor Albert Finney. Martin Sheen who had just been shot to fame by Apocalypse Now, alongside Johnathan Pryce,Colin Blakeley, Robert Morley, Susannah Yorke, Dinah Booker and Colin Blakeley. All respected character and lead actors.

Albert Finney plays the leader of a criminal gang whose latest raid has come up short. He plans to break into a vault containing safe deposit boxes. In order to locate the exact location of the vault, he needs the help of an architect who can pinpoint where the tunnel needs to emerge. This is where Martin Sheen comes in.

Worrth watching for the cast giving good performances.

Albert Finney was an exceptional actor, very good in all the movies, those made in his youth and those in his maturity. Very convincing in this "Loophole" too. Martin Sheen also does a good role as an architect forced to become thief. Susannah York very credible as his wife. All the other actors, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, etc., are good. Some who wrote reviews complained that they did not understand or like the end of the movie. The guy who dies and we see him floating on the water, we can imagine that he drowned or had a heart attack. And Martin Sheen goes out of the building exactly as he tells Albert Finney he will, when the water retreats, you only have to imagine this, it's not that hard. Very pleasant surprise is the music of Lalo Schifrin, which, unfortunately, is not as great as in films like "Bullitt" or "Mission: Impossible". What's missing the movie is more suspense, that's all.