Art of Steal

"If you got no trust that what do you got?" Crunch (Russell) and Nicky (Dillon) are brothers and partners in crime. When a job goes bad and they are both caught only Crunch ends up doing time. When he gets out he tries to go straight and becomes a motorcycle daredevil. When he tires of crashing for a few hundred bucks he agrees to pull off one last heist with his old team. They only thing standing in their way of pulling off the perfect heist is trust. This movie was a great surprise for me. I knew nothing about this going in and I think that helped my enjoyment of it. The movie was super fun to watch, really funny with a smart plot. This is the closest heist movie to the Ocean's series that has been made. Just like the Ocean's series the heist itself is fun to watch and the pay off brings it over the top. This is the kind of movie you can't say too much about without giving anything away but what I can say is watch this. One of the biggest surprises and funnest movies I have seen in a while. Overall, heist movie fans will love this...I did. I give this an A-.

Motorcycle rider Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) is in a crew with his half-brother Nicky Calhoun (Matt Dillon), Paddy MacCarthy (Kenneth Welsh), and forger Guy (Chris Diamantopoulos). Their mark is Stash Bartkowiak who had a stolen Gauguin from an Oslo gallery. They are discovered and Nicky rats out Crunch. Seven years in a Polish prison (5 1/2 with good behavior) later, Crunch is out and out of crime for good. He's daredevil motorcycle riding working with his girlfriend Lola (Katheryn Winnick) and apprentice Francie Tobin (Jay Baruchel). Interpol Agent Bick (Jason Jones) is after a stolen Seurat with the help of informant Samuel Winter (Terence Stamp). Nicky outsmarts them and double cross Sunny who then threatens Crunch for his money. Crunch is pulled back in with Nicky.

There are too many capers and too many complicated expositions. Writer/director Jonathan Sobol has pack this in with so many characters. It's a lower grade Guy Ritchie in Canada. He is starting to solidify his style along with 'A Beginner's Guide to Endings'. However this is a little bit too ambitious for him. Dillon-Russell anchors it with a complicated cute relationship. There are some funny bits, some fun dialog, and a whole lot of fun-like wacky. There is a particularly funny art piece. In the end, it just needs more comedy and a more simplified story.

What a cast! I have to put that out there first. Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, but also Terence Stamp (every word he's saying has such a weight and him going for comedy, is so great). Actually everyone involved makes it look so effortless. Heist movies of course might not be everyones thing and people might argue, that after Oceans Eleven (or the sequels), there is nothing left to say.

Yes this may be predictable and may or may not make much sense under scrutiny, but it is too fun to watch, twist and turn and go different directions, that it would be a shame for you not to enjoy it. And I can't stress out enough, that this also has a lot to do with the cast involved. The script is good, but you have to have people deliver it. Every role is cast in a great way and this movie makes no secret that it wants to entertain you. It's not as wrangled up as "Now you see me" (which is also better), but it doesn't have to be

If you love heist movies like me then you will love this one...without spoiling, it has all the ingredients for a good heist movie: protagonist is hard done by antagonist; trust is burnt; work together again for a big score; can they trust each other again? But what I like about this movies is the intricate story...there are things afoot and they're not twelve inches...Can you work it out? I had a rough idea without working out the details but I still loved it.... works much better than Now You See Me in my opinion...has a B grade movie feel but an A grade kick in the pants at the end...I do like Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon. And it is great to see Kenneth Welsh...A very Good Movie...

What a great ride!

I'm Canadian, and nothing kills me more (being a Canadian) than saying that there is an undeniably 'crappy' feel to most, if not all, Canadian productions. That being said, this movie was actually really good. Great performances from most of the cast, really great to see Kenneth Welsh and Terence Stamp adding some credibility to whole thing.

As far as heist movies go, this one is fairly typical but the production/editing really pull it together. Kurt Russell does a great job along with Baruchel and Winnick and my usual aversion to Matt Dillon was even kept in check to some degree. Nice little twist-up at the end even if it was somewhat predictable. Also Some pretty funny scenes and exchanges, especially if you watch the outtakes in the credits.

All in all a great film with a surprisingly good feel.