FOLIO
by Rick Grant
This is a fast moving heist film involving a sophisticated crew of career criminals led by Gordon Jennings (Idris Elba) with his top lieutenant John Rahway (Paul Walker). The crew runs their bank robberies like a corporation, planning and executing the jobs with precision.
The gang uses a violent takeover style, terrorizing the bank with automatic weapons and using explosives. They leave by secret routes leaving no evidence. They live the high life, invest their earning, and plan the jobs with skill and precision. Off duty, the team wear custom made suits, own expensive condos, prestige cars, and socialize at VIP lounges.
On one job, a member of their crew, Ghost (Tip “T.I.” Harris) was shot, arrested, and served five years in the joint keeping his mouth shut. When he got out, he expected to be part of the team again. The tight-knit group accepts him back. After all, he didn’t rat them out.
However, the team doesn’t trust him. Nonetheless, he brings an enticing job to them for $30 million in 2 armored cars arriving on a certain date and time. The only caveat is, they only have five days to plan the job. Normally, they take at least a month to plan a heist. But, it’s a rare opportunity for a big score. Gordon says, “We are takers and that’s what we do.”
Meanwhile, a hard working detective, Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) is determined to help the FBI collar this crew. He knows that they will slip-up eventually, and he can get a sliver of evidence to track them down.
Written and directed by John Luessenhop, the film features non-stop action sequences, car stunts, foot chases, and firefights. The lead flies through the air like wind driven rain and the bodies pile up. At times it’s difficult to keep track of who’s who in the gang. For the most part, though, this is an action junkies fix of pure adrenalin.
The action ramps us toward the end as Welles closes in on the gang. The lure of the $30 million heist has ignited the crew’s greed, which overshadow their careful planning.
The ensemble cast is great at portraying high styled gangsters who are making a fortune robbing banks. It’s a mixed race crew, which brought in Paul Walker to play a key role as well as Hayden Christensen as A.J.
Overall, this is one of the best heist films to come down the pike in ages. I’m an old man, but it got me revved up. Hey, let’s go rob a bank–only kidding!
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