To watch or not to watch: Meh. Can watch it, or not. Not missing out

Starring: Robert De Niro, Edward Newton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett

Nick Wells (Robert De Niro) is a master burglar, the kind that can open any safe and undo the bobby traps lying on the way to it. He is advancing in age and decides to lead an honest life with his girlfriend. In comes Max (Marlon Brando) and Jack Teller (Edward Norton), who convinces Nick to pull the last heist worth $4 million at Montreal Customs House. Jack is working at the site as a mentally challenged janitor and gains the trust of his colleagues, which he exploits for the heist. The heist is planned entirely by Nick, though the plan isn’t without its glitches.

The movie is a typical heist movie. In fact, there are a few aspects which make it look like a prequel to The Italian Job. There are the same expected twists which seem almost obligatory in any heist movie. Compared to some of the newer movies, this had an amateurish feel to it (for example, the Ocean series). There is no taking away from the performances by any of the cast members, which is a shame for a poor script. Edward Norton is perfection as a mentally challenged man, complete with speech difficulty. This was also Marlon Brando’s last movie.

They could have written a few more twists and presented them in a way where they jump out. since the formula for any such movie is almost set in stone, it is the execution which makes all the difference. It was a heist movie, plain and simple. It laids out the rules and formulae for all the other movies of this genre to come.