The vast majority of heist thrillers thrive on the fact that we, as viewers, root for the crooks to see whether their coup will work in the end or put them all behind bars. As with “Ocean’s Eleven” or “Baby Driver”, we are usually already involved in the planning of the robbery and are then allowed to see how the gears mesh and everything succeeds or not. Of course, the better representatives of the genre still have one or two surprising twists in store for their characters and the audience. This is also the case with “How To Rob A Bank”, where director David Leitch (“Atomic Blonde”) sticks to the conventions of the subject, at least in this regard.
In terms of film, the “John Wick” co-mastermind does a few things differently. “How To Rob A Bank” offers long stretches of aspects that are more reminiscent of music videos and YouTube content than of the elegantly presented genre representatives mentioned at the beginning. There are, of course, the usual confident, imaginative and dynamic, if not overly spectacular, action sequences that are not overwhelming in number. Because “How To Rob A Bank” also wants to send a message: in the style of “Fight The Power!” – or something like that. The fact that this call will only be partially received despite a visually attractive framework is due to the superficiality of the script by Mark Bianculli (also writes the new “Cliffhanger” and the Reeves/Ritchson vehicle “Maelstrom”). However, the result is a cool, almost consistently entertaining robber pistol with a few contemporary aspects.
The quartet of crooks at the center of the film are not only skilled at cleverly devised robberies, but also at effective social media productions.
Ryan (Nicholas Hoult), his wife Emi (Anna Sawai) and their buddies Vince (Pete Davidson) and Hugo (Rhenzy Feliz) are the core of an extremely cunning gang of bank robbers. However, it is not enough for them to relieve a total of 15 financial institutions of considerable amounts of cash within just three months. They also film themselves carrying out their coups and upload lively advice videos to social media in order to find fans and imitators. With their self-presentation as modern Robin Hoods, they will soon have millions of online followers. And with each new heist, their popularity increases.
Of course, it’s no wonder that the quartet is targeted by law enforcement authorities. The FBI agent assigned to the gang, John West (John C. Reilly), is a real old-school investigator and is completely overwhelmed when it comes to social media and the technology behind it. Meanwhile, he is clever enough to coerce the brilliant but legally troubled software developer Reagan Gardner (Zoë Kravitz) into helping him. As the unlikely duo gets closer and closer to the robbers, they are ready to risk everything for their principles with one final blow…
Criminal activity in spectacular images
The first hour of “How To Rob A Bank” just flies by. Leitch establishes his characters and their criminal activities in elaborate clips with hyper-nervous cuts, CGI effects, color gimmicks and other alienations, text overlays, snappy off-screen sayings and an insane pace. Given the commotion that sometimes reigns on the screen, it’s almost a miracle that he still manages to let us keep track of things through this audiovisual sensory overload and even generate sympathy for the characters on both sides of the confrontation.
Around the middle of the film there is almost inevitably a longer passage with the handbrake on. In this context, the connections between everything that had previously been bombarded upon us must finally be explained (and digested). For the spectacular finale, which almost seems like a mixture of “The Purge” and “V for Vendetta”, Leitch finds the accelerator again and finally puts the pedal to the metal when it comes to action – only to use a twist at the very end to give us a glimpse of a possible sequel that is not really necessary, but at least amusing.
However, anyone who expects “How To Rob A Bank” to provide a kind of guide to quick success in these economically difficult times for many people must be careful. Sure, the whole thing may not seem completely absurd, but actually feasible in reality. However, you would have to have extremely strong motivation that goes beyond the mere desire for a lot of money. Which brings us to the aspect of the film that doesn’t work so well.
Social criticism is the biggest weakness
All four gang members have it – apart from the money, which of course also plays a role! – sufficiently credibly described personal motives for taking the enormous risks of a whole series of robberies. This part is particularly successful with the character of Pete Davidson, who acts surprisingly sensitively over long stretches (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”). The highlight of his performance is a touching montage of scenes to the perfectly used “Karma Police” by Radiohead. So we always keep our fingers crossed for the crooks, despite their committing serious crimes and the threat or, if necessary, the use of violence.
The social and system criticism remains superficial to vague. Basically, it just boils down to the fact that the bankers – represented by the appropriately smarmy Christian Slater (“True Romance”) – are the bad guys. They pocket the money of honest people and make them work themselves to death while they themselves live in luxury. However, how this could come about and why the state has no real interest in doing anything about this situation is only vaguely hinted at or not even mentioned. This is all pretty flat.
Comedian Pete Davidson (“The King Of Staten Island”) acts astonishingly sensitive as Vince!
Leitch and Bianculli themselves seem to have recognized this fact. Which is why they portray the FBI people, harmoniously played by John C. Reilly (“Magnolia”) and Zoë Kravitz (“The Batman”) as an extremely opposing investigator duo, not as blunt or even malicious henchmen, but rather empathetically. So we can sympathize with them too. This doesn’t make the whole thing any more profound, but at least it remains entertaining in the moments in which we are shown the cops’ progress.
Conclusion: “How To Rob A Bank” is a heist thriller that also aims to send a message about the socio-economic state of our society. While the latter is only partially successful, the implementation of the crime story and the characters acting on both sides of the confrontation are consistently consistent and entertaining. Visually, the whole thing is also a feast if you can handle quick cuts, dynamic tracking shots and other technical gadgets.