Double casse, hold-up à Ocean Down

If you liked THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR you'll probably like THE HEIST. In fact the last act of TTCA seems to be lifted directly from this. As it was released on HBO domestically and only made theaters oversees, it's an overlooked gem of a movie. A project worth studying if you're a writer attempting a heist picture, along with RIFFIFI(French), THE HOT ROCK, THIEF, THE GETAWAY and a few others. It's tone is fun and smart.

This is not heavy fair and had a limited budget. This is the opposite end of the spectrum from Mann's HEAT, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. It clearly falls under the cat & mouse category of heist projects as the hero attempts to simultaneously take down one last big score, win back the girl, and get revenge against his crooked ex-partner (Skerritt) who years earlier double crossed him, stole the girl and sent him to prison. The beauty of the film is everybody knows when and where our Hero is going to attempt his impossible score. They just don'

I am a sucker for heist films and for Pierce Brosnan, who did this little film after he finished with Remington Steele, and before he got famous as the best Bond ever.

I like a good heist. Usually, I like to watch the planning, but that wasn't the feature here. he had everything in his head and didn't appear to share with anyone, except maybe his girlfriend Sheila (Wendy Hughes).

This wasn't about money. It was about revenge against the guy who sent him to prison (Tom Skerritt) and winning his girl back.

It wasn't terribly great, but it was enjoyable. He perfected his ability in this type of picture and was brilliant in The Thomas Crown Affair.

I'm really not much of a Brosnan fan, but I was impressed with his early work in Fourth Protocol with M. Caine...so I thought I'd take a chance and buy The Heist...thinking it must be a FAIRLY decent movie.WRONG!!! The opening scene with Brosnan spitting out on the prison yard was an IMMEDIATE turn-off. A thoroughly substandard production almost totally lacking in anything that would make you want to pay to see. Unimaginative and insipid at worst...boring and predictable at best...and where did they find his love interest? Short, fat, ugly and old.What was up with that!? I though ole Pierce was supposed to be a "ladies man". The supporting characters only succeeded in bringing what little of a movie there might have been down in flames.Even Skerrit was horrendous! All in all a thorough disaster to be avoided at ALL costs!!!Poor music score as well.

Leave it to Pierce Brosnan to be in the worst movie HBO ever made. The network's movies have received numerous award nominations, but The Heist is totally light-weight. Brosnan wears scuzzy clothes and has no charm in this movie. His character pursues a woman who abandoned him when he was arrested and returned all the letters he sent her from jail. When he sees her again, she makes it clear she's not interested, but he still thinks she loves him. Later, she vacillates between Brosnan and Tom Skerritt, just to see who will end up on top. The sex scene isn't even sexy because all you can see is an isolated shot of a man's butt, indicating it's not even Brosnan but a double.

Forget James Bond! Pierce Brosnan is at his best in this well-paced thoughtful revenge thriller--enough action for any Bond fan with enough twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing who will come out on top until the very end! Will the good guy win and get the girl? Watch and find out . . .