Director David Leitch does justice to the unruly in How to Rob a Bank. Still, a cartoonish script and cookie-cutter characters make for a poor cinema-going experience for those looking for anything with an ounce of nuance. The pulpy dramedy does manage to get a few laughs and includes plenty of set pieces, making the movie ultimately enjoyable for a throwaway movie night.
How to Rob a Bank is the heist movie for the social media age, with the plot of the film following two distinct groups: a rag-tag ensemble of surprisingly capable criminal influencers and a detective-engineer duo chasing them in a predictable game of cat and mouse. Zoë Kravitz plays Reagan Gardner, a brilliant computer engineer currently facing house arrest for the creation and deployment of a malicious tracking AI suite, which ultimately grants her an opportunity at freedom after FBI Agent West (John C. Reilly) comes knocking on her door.
Together, the team sets out to capture Nicholas Hoult’s character, Ryan, and his group of wolf-masked vigilantes as they continue their brazen and escalating string of robbing banks around the Pittsburgh area. How to Rob a Bank attempts to slowly reveal to audiences that these modern-day Robin Hoods are human, all having been dealt a bad hand by the system. The sob-story bit works well enough, but feels paper-thin and predictable, made worse when juxtaposed against their unbelievably bombastic escapades as camera-wielding ninjas that whiplash audiences between phoned-in emotional moments.
“If you’re a gamer, How to Rob a Bank almost feels like a vertical slice of many a popular game, with the film itself referencing Grand Theft Auto during a driving sequence early on.”
How to Rob a Bank leaves plausibility in the hollowed-out bank vaults, with most characters feeling more like comic book caricatures than real people. This element works in Leitch’s favour if you happen to be looking for more Deadpool levels of tomfoolery, but falls apart in any other regard, particularly if you were expecting a decent heist flick.
There is some emotional payoff, but it feels messy and tacked-on, despite the movie making it obvious from the outset that something is going on behind the madness driving the vigilante group forward. Vince, a military veteran and right-hand man to Ryan, as played by Pete Davidson, feels the most plausible, with his narrative threads carrying a good amount of emotional weight that, outside of feeling cliché, sticks the landing.
Outside of a very strong character dynamic between Reagan and Agent West, which easily was my favourite aspect of the film, How to Rob a Bank wastes the otherwise compelling character portrayed by Kravitz, using her more as a tool to move the plot forward than having any meaningful interactions with the characters, particularly in regard to those on the opposite side of the fence.
“How to Rob a Bank attempts to slowly reveal to audiences that these modern-day Robin Hoods are human, all having been dealt a bad hand by the system.”
The social media aspects within How to Rob a Bank are also fairly interesting, if not completely crazy — if you can maintain your suspension of disbelief. If nothing else, the art direction of the viral videos created by the Wolf-masked robbers makes for some genuinely fun visual flair that perfectly goes in line with the high-octane set pieces of the movie.
If you’re a gamer, How to Rob a Bank almost feels like a vertical slice of many a popular game, with the film itself referencing Grand Theft Auto during a driving sequence early on. The ridiculous escalation and ease with which elaborate plans are executed in the movie feel ripped straight out of video games, making it a fun ride for anyone who has shot a bullet on the digital battlefield.
How to Rob a Bank isn’t exactly V for Vendetta meets Ocean’s, but it sure does feel like it wants to be. Instead, the 112-minute feature film serves as a ludicrous rollercoaster of visual eye candy wrapped up in a plot that tries too hard to force serious moments and emotional drama that ultimately drag it down.
There is a scene towards the latter half of the film where the vigilante group manage to accrue a big enough social media following that they can elicit a riot through the power of their followers. This scene felt akin to something from Batman or a superhero movie, making me wish the film would instead be an animated feature, as relying on live action felt ultimately disjointed when trying to balance spectacle with emotional levity (The Dark Knight, this is not).
Despite all the complaints, I’d be remiss to say I didn’t have fun with How to Rob a Bank, as the film does make for good entertainment, just as long as you know what you’re signing up for: a lowbrow product of the Marvel era of cinema, made for a quick and digestible watch between the doldrums of a slow week.
