Search - How to Rob a Bank on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 3/27/2020...

Had some entertaining and intriguing parts but most of this was a dud. A must for Oceans style movie fans!

Dawn M. (Harleygirl) from HURON, SD
Reviewed on 1/20/2015...

Great Condition!!

0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Different

Spooky | United States | 07/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll make this short and to the point but hopefully with enough to get you a basic outline of what to expect from this movie.

I thought the basic idea was pretty good but the dialogue in itself lacked moments at times, there are also several scenes that drag on and on (Mostly between the main character, Jinx, within the vault).

The effects are surprising, the soundtrack is pretty good. Some of the acting could have been done better and I think they should have improved with the Detective character. The way he delivered certain jokes practically ruined them.

What made me buy this movie, rent it, and watch it a couple of times? Gavin Rossdale. I've always been a big fan and his acting in this movie is amazing, he basically saved the movie and made it watchable.

I just skip to the parts that have him in them, he had some pretty entertaining moments and made the purchase worth while.

To close this up, I leave you with a few final words. If you're not a fan of Gavin Rossdale or don't have a clue who he is, this movie might have to be enjoyed by you in a different way.

My suggestion, if that is the case, is to kick back and relax. Enjoy the soundtrack and the few jokes tossed in the middle, you'll find it a quick and entertaining flick.

However, if you are a fan of Gavin Rossdale then you certainly will enjoy it no matter what."

Boring

ScrawnyPunk | Houston, TX USA | 11/18/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I didn't know it was possible to make a boring bank robbery movie, but apparently it is. Jinx (Nick Stahl) is a disgruntled paycheck-to-paycheck Gen-Y quasi-slacker stuck in a bank vault with would-be robber Jessica (Erika Christensen). Gavin Rossdale is Simon, the anti-depressant popping sociopath waiting outside the vault with an itchy trigger finger and a bank full of hostages. Terry Crews is Officer DeGepse, the half-competent police negotiator allowing his strings to be pulled by Jinx. And David Carradine is the voice of Nick, the robbery's mastermind. In a useless plot device, the key bank robbers (Nick and Simon) take their names from Duran Duran since they use a fansite to mask their communications over the internet.

What happens? Not much. Jinx recruits Jessica to his side (despite lack of apparent chemistry between the two actors), sees through Nick's masterplan, rants about bank charges, plays Simon and DeGepse against one another to engineer a way out of the safe, and (presumably) splits the eventual take with Nick and Jessica.

At the end of the day, this seems like a waste of Nick Stahl's talent. Nothing really makes sense in this movie - from the robber's Duran-Duran-obsessed cabal, to the origin of the stolen money (banking fees which are somehow unclaimed), to the location of the all-important computer terminal (locked in a branch vault as opposed to a corporate site or secured facility), to Jinx's ability to turn his `captive' robber, to the final escape. Most of the movie appears either poorly conceived or unbelievable.

The `escape' scene is emblematic of the movie's inability to carry any semblance of logic, suspense, or momentum. Jessica has to appear as Jinx's captive to fool Simon, while appearing as an innocent bystander to escape DeGepse's notice and prosecution. All is solved by having a jammed gun (a recurring motif throughout the movie) go off and plug Simon in the forehead, ending everyone's troubles. Nice, tidy, and completely unrewarding. I'll take The Bank Job or Heat any day over this one any day."

More clever than accomplished

Roland E. Zwick | Valencia, Ca USA | 03/14/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"**1/2

"How to Rob a Bank" is a low-budget oddity in which a young private citizen (Nick Stahl) gets accidentally locked in a bank vault with a hot-and-sexy would-be robber (Erika Christensen). The trick is it's hard to tell whose side young Jinx is really on - the bank robbers' who are holding the employees and customers hostage on the other side of the steel door, or the cops`, led by Officer Degepse (Terry Crews of "Everybody Hates Chris"), who are stuck outside the bank trying to defuse the situation. Jinx is a customer mightily ticked off at how banks literally nickel-and-dime their depositors at every opportunity - and it is anger at this outrage that may inspire him to shift his loyalties to the malefactors in the final stretch.

Written and directed by Andrews Jenkins, the movie earns more points for creativity than it does for execution. The story is often needlessly gimmicky and confusing, the direction unpolished and lacking in finesse, and the performances low on subtlety and shading (though Stahl is very good). Plus, what with its made-on-the-cheap appearance, collection of pseudo-profundities and single-set mise-en-scene, "How to Rob a Bank" definitely has a film-school-project feel to it.

Still, it's kind of fun watching the movie turn the bank-robbery formula on its head, particularly in its blurring of the lines between the hostages and the hostage-takers, the law-breakers and the law-enforcers. Plus, for a little added kick, it has the late David Carradine appearing in a cameo role right at the closing moments."