7 Minutes

"Don't get caught. Don't get caught." Three high school friends have been backed into a corner. They need money, a lot of it, fast. Out of options they decide to simply rob a bank. They have the perfect target and things start smooth, but when one is recognized things take a turn for the worse. What started off as a way to get out of a jam now becomes a fight for survival. This movie is a different take on the heist movie genre. The robbery takes 7 minutes, but during that time the reasons and back story of each robber is told through flashbacks and that really is a neat way to do this. Each person has their own story, which really helps in the emotional connection to every person involved. On the other side, that is really the only thing keeping this from being 100% generic. There are a few twists in this but nothing mind blowing. All that said this is actually a decent movie to watch, but I found my mind wandering every once in a while. On the plus side this wasn't all that convoluted of a plot and even zoning out for a few minutes I was able to understand what was going on. Overall, nothing terrible but nothing amazing either. I liked the use of flashbacks. I give this a C.

I found the screenplay frustratingly predictable and boring. The characters were more like caricatures with no depth. The acting was poor. There were some serious flaws in the story-line. I managed to sit through it but I regretted it.

"There are two rules that everybody knows. First, don't go in with anybody who has more to lose than you. What is the other rule? You got cement in your ears. Don't get caught."

Are you a big fan of, or you have a fetishism for an abundance of flashbacks, then "7 Minutes" will be perfect for you. Because, believe me, you just bent over to scratch yourself at an annoying place because there's an irritating itch, and before you know it you swallow another flashback. Or you just grabbed for the half-empty packet of paprika chips .... BANG .... another flashback. This was like a doubles match at Wimbledon with four pepped first-rank players. The flashbacks will fly around your ears (backhandwise). So paying attention is the message. Otherwise you've lost the thread in this tangle of intersecting story lines. Indeed Sir, within 7 minutes!

Sam (Luke Mitchell), Mike (Jason Ritter) and Owen (Zane Holtz) are the three central figures. Three schoolmates who are leading a not so rosy life. Sam was an American football star with a scholarship and the accompanying mandatory cheerleader Kate (Leven Rambin). Their future looked promising, but an ankle injury put spikes in the wheel. The end result is a miserable, poor life with Sam working in a factory and his pregnant wife Kate as a waitress in a restaurant. Mike (Sam's brother) is in the same boat (the American Dream boat that sailed as Mike claims) and he tries to survive by selling weed. Owen's life isn't exactly a success story either. He's the son of Mr. B (Kris Kristofferson) who leads the local mafia. Owen just left prison. He got convicted after colliding with an obese security guard in a not so gentle way. To be honest, those guys aren't the brightest minds in this local town.

Yep, they aren't smart. You'll notice that immediately. When they set up the plan to go into business with a notorious drug dealer, this goes awfully wrong thanks to panicky Owen. An anxiety attack makes him flush XTC tablets, worth $ 62,000, down the toilet of a petrol station. Hence the next stupid idea : robbing Sam and Mike's uncle. This will only take 7 minutes. Voila, and thus the title of the film is also explained. Needless to say that again this is a stupid plan. Who is so stupid to commit a robbery in a town where everybody knows you? And why the hell did they pick someone related to them? It's a plan doomed to fail. Especially when other complications turn up as well. Believe me, the story lines are subtle but also in a complicated way interwoven with each other. And that makes this seemingly simple bank robbery story unnecessarily complicated.

It reminded me a bit of "Cut Bank". Only the latter was far more cynical and humorous. The three clumsy friends were interpreted in a reasonable manner by the respective actors. But really memorable it wasn't either. Kristofferson's contribution was way too limited to make a judgment, but this kind of character fits him. The only ones that stood out were Kevin Gage, as trigger-happy Tuckey who changed the tone of the film abruptly from average to violent, and Brandon Hardesty as the pathetic, obese Jerome who spontaneously starts crying while looking at himself in the mirror. The bank robbery itself may not look as stupid as the one in "American Heist", but otherwise this film isn't memorable either. "7 Minutes" is an uninspired, ridiculous film that provides momentary entertainment. However, I didn't mind that it took more than seven minutes.

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An interesting story line and character presentation, somewhat of a love story. There was some confusion as to the links between characters. Although there were jumps in time, it made sense in the overall context. Repeated scenes did not add to understanding of the storyline, although they reinforced the theme of the movie. Some good ethical decision points were presented. Wonderful to see familiar scenes from Everett. Only downside was the character Jerome, the policeman. I felt that Jerome was portrayed in a less than flattering way to the Everett Police Department. All that being said, I would give this movie a thumbs up and a definite "go see".

Timing is everything and this movie succeeds in relating its story in scenes involving each of its main characters in the 7 minutes the criminals involved in a robbery have planned before the cops arrive. All the actors are superb. Unusual Seattle setting. If you like character and suspense movies told in a different way you'll like this one.