HOW TO ROB A BANK: 2 ½ STARS. “plenty of ideas but no nuance.”
SYNOPSIS: In “How to Rob a Bank,” a new heist film starring Nicholas Hoult and Zoë Kravitz, and now playing in theatres, a crew of social media-savvy bank robbers are hunted by a veteran FBI agent and a software engineer. “You know what’s more powerful than money?” asks Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). “An audience.”
CAST: Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz, Pete Davidson, John C. Reilly. Directed by David Leitch.
REVIEW: A play on Robin Hood for the Instagram age, “How to Rob a Bank” sees a crew of influencer bank robbers called the Wolf Pack (Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz and Pete Davidson) post their heists on-line to expose the exploitation of banks on regular citizens. “Welcome to our channel, How to Rob a Bank,” says Ryan (Nicholas Hoult), “where we teach our followers how to steal from the banks that steal from them.”
As their notoriety grows, they attract the attention of FBI veteran Agent West (John C. Reilly) and computer hacker Reagan (Zoë Kravitz). “You know,” he says, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I’ve never come across a group of people as ballsy as this. Why are they posting it on social media? That’s 15 banks now. They must have a pretty big pile of money. Why are they taking these risks?”
As the FBI closes in, the thieves, driven by a sense of social responsibility, plan one last heist, their biggest one yet. “The city has a police force of hundreds,” says Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). “We’re an online community of thousands.”
A revenge fueled riff on “rob from the rich and give to the poor” for Tik Tokers, “How to Rob a Bank” is a slickly made but overstuffed heist flick with plenty of ideas but no nuance.
Director David Leitch, working from a script by Mark Bianculli, rides the line between dumb fun and social commentary.
Leitch stages several pulse racing car chases and there’s an action filled finale, but for a heist film, there’s not all that much actual robbery. We’re shown the crew at work, but the film gets weighed down with flashy music video inspired screeds about the death of the American Dream.
Wolf Pack leader Ryan (Nicholas Hoult) talks about the how-tos of bank robbing, systemic inequality, predatory lending and other revolutionary hot button topics, but his take at societal woes has a “I did my own research” vibe that undercuts its effectiveness. It’s a cavalcade of bold statements, percentages and graphics that feels like a quick scroll through the darker corners of the internet on the big screen. No subtlety, no depth, just scattershot collections of images and graphics.
As captured by Leitch ‘s camera, the emphasis on action and social comment prevent any degree of character building, save for the basics. Several characters get backstory while others are place holders without much to do.
As odd couple investigators Reilly and Kravitz have good chemistry, and it’s fun to see him as the rumpled but sharp-as-a-tack FBI agent, but after Kravitz (NO SPOILERS HERE) does her thing, her character is forgotten about, relegated to the background.
“How to Rob a Bank’s” championing of civil disobedience is either timely or irresponsible depending on your outlook. The issues it raises about affordability are timely and real, but the glamorization of violence in the wake of the attack and breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and the 2024 shooting of Brian Thompson, the CEO of the health insurer UnitedHealthcare in New York City, place the film’s philosophy in a harsher light.
