There’s something rather timely about How to Rob a Bank. With so many people feeling that financial institutions have rigged the system against them, David Leitch’s latest asks a pointed question: should we really care about banks being robbed when banks seem to care so little about us?
The film follows a group of masked robbers, led by Ryan (Nicholas Hoult), who livestream every heist, turning public anger into online stardom. Among them are Pete Davidson’s Vince, a terminally ill veteran, and Rhenzy Feliz’s Hugo, the genius programmer who grants the group access to their targets. On the other side of the law is Zoë Kravitz’s Reagan Gardner, a talented IT programmer whose house arrest could be commuted if she says yes to an offer from John C. Reilly’s FBI Agent West: help track the robbers down using her latest invention. It’s an offer she can hardly refuse. Meanwhile, Christian Slater plays Walton, a banking boss who puts profit over people’s wellbeing and, naturally, gets his comeuppance. It’s a smart hook, and one that deserves a more coherent film than the one we end up with.
Leitch, the man behind Bullet Train and The Fall Guy, wraps all of this in a loud, hyperactive style designed to mimic the feed-scrolling rhythms of social media. The aim is presumably a rebellious, anarchic energy, but it doesn’t always land. Too often the visuals and pacing seem more interested in dazzling us than grounding us in the story. Quick cuts, flashy graphics and a relentless soundtrack full of obvious needle-drops make for an overwhelming sensory experience, one that’s exhilarating at times and exhausting at others. This is a film so busy showing off how it’s telling its story that it often forgets to tell it well.
Much of the blame lies with Mark Bianculli’s script. The satire of social-media validation and corporate greed is sketched rather than developed, and several character motivations and plot turns need far more attention. Ryan’s shift in motivation, for one, feels rushed, leaving a key turning point undercooked.
The cast does what it can. Hoult et al commit fully to characters the writing doesn’t always serve, while Feliz and Slater make the most of their supporting roles. Davidson and Reilly add some welcome personality, but it’s Hoult who impresses most, bringing Ryan just enough charisma and edge to keep the film’s centre moving.
Leitch, whose credits also include John Wick and Deadpool 2, knows his way around an action set piece, and the heists bring momentum and excitement whenever the film gets down to business. The best of them is the central bank raid, which works because it’s chaotic, tightly staged and easy to follow. At a brisk 89 minutes, there’s little time to dwell on the weaker stretches.
It’s big, it’s dumb and it’s all kinds of silly, but How to Rob a Bank has a strong idea at its core, even if that idea never quite finds the right tone. The stylisation can distract, and the writing rarely matches the ambition. Still, the performances and some thoroughly enjoyable action make up for much of that. It’s an uneven film, but not an unsuccessful one, and I liked it more than I expected.
