AMERICAN HEIST (2014)

Genre: Crime/Action
Director: Sarik Andreasyan
Cast: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster, Tory Kittles, Akon
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 June 2014

Synopsis: A New Orleans mechanic's struggle to turn his back on crime is compromised by the unexpected return of his ex-con brother, who quickly gets him involved in a dangerous heist. James and Frankie were just teenagers when Frankie was convicted for shooting a cop, and sent to prison. Ten years later, James (Hayden Christensen) has finally put his life back in order. He's seeking the financing to open his own garage when he starts to rekindle a romance with his ex-flame Emily (Jordana Brewster). Their future together is looking bright until Frankie (Adrien Brody) reappears without warning, entangling his brother in a dangerous bank robbery plot hatched by Sugar (Akon) and Ray (Tory Kittles), two enterprising criminals who make it clear that Frankie and Emily will suffer if James doesn't go along with their plans. Later, with the bank vault open and everything going as planned, an unexpected complication puts James' devotion to his troubled brother to the ultimate test.

Movie Review:

F***! F***! F***!

Trust us, you are gonna swear as much as the two protagonists after you seen American Heist. And this of course is not a good thing.

Anakin Skywalker/Hayden Christensen is back after a long career hiatus and for the first time onscreen he is teaming up with Oscar winner Adrien Brody as two brothers who are involved in a bank robbery that of course went awry.

After ten years in jail, small-time hoodlum Frankie (Brody) finally reunites with his ex-jail mates Ray (Tory Kittles) and Sugar (Hip hop star Akon) to work on a major bank heist. But before that, Frankie needs to recruit his younger brother, Jimmy (Christensen) who works as a car mechanic and also conveniently an expert in explosives rigging.

Unlike Frankie, Jimmy wanted to lead a clean life, he even tries to take out a bank loan to start up his own workshop and there’s a former flame in the form of Jordana Brewster (she just loves men that possessed extraordinary automobile skills isn’t she?) coming back to him. But all these are coming to a stop because he loves his only family member so much that he has no choice but to partake in a silly crime that doesn’t has much of a plan to begin with.  

For a start, I like to give points to Brody who delivers a believable gangsta performance. Edgy and completely menacing, he is on a roll after a devilish turn as the villain in Jackie Chan’s Dragon Blade. If you can’t remember Christensen’s last major role was in another star-studded heist movie, Takers, it’s perfectly all right. The usually stiff Christensen who spends considerable screentime playing opposite Brody may not be perfect but he’s more than up for the task.

Apart from that, this modern heist title offers nothing new in fact it’s pretty insipid.  For the first hour or more, you need to sit through repetitive sessions of brotherly talk (slew of vulgarities included), hugs and cries and listen to an unfortunate story of how Frankie nearly got raped in jail if not for the interference of Ray and Sugar. For sure, the story is definitely not in the league of The Town or Heat. There’s an unintended laugh-out-loud moment that touched upon American President Thomas Jefferson. This intelligent quote just came out of nowhere and seriously just spares viewers about lectures on corporate America and get on with the heist.

To be fair, Armenia helmer Sarik Andreasyan did his very best with the limited budget. For the last 20 minutes or so, pyrotechnics are on full display including an absolutely shoddy looking CG chopper being shot down in downtown New Orleans. Blood are shed and no one is spared from the killings except one in the climatic (dubious) closing scene. The action is never riveting though there’s a decent closure to the estranged brothers. American Heist is a perfect example of a cheap straight-to-video actioner, filled with more clichés than bullets. Avoid. 

Movie Rating:

(F***! F***! F***! I just got robbed of my time)

Review by Linus Tee