The Art of the Steal (2014)

I like heist movies, once they were making great ones, but not anymore. I have heard about this, though haven't seen it till now. Seems it's a decent film, but came at the wrong time of the history. You know, the same film 15-20 years ago would have made a better impact among people, as well as commercially. Nowadays, the youngsters want only superhero action-sci-fi films. That should not be the reason for a film's failure. Instead, they should have improved it in lots of areas. But still I liked a few things from it, like the information about mixing the real art with the fake ones, but still it remains as the real.The film is about two half-brothers. They are the art thieves and they have done many jobs together, but in their final one, one of them betrays. So the rest of the narration sets in a few years later when they join hands for another big art heist sidelining their differences. They form a big team and this time they are watchful over each other. Now comes the final act where the actual event takes place and with a twist the story comes to an end.An enjoyable film, little funny and had some good moments, But overall film was predictable, including the twist. Could be the director's best film so far. Kurt Russell was just okay, but expected a lot. The rest of the cast in this multi-starrer, does not look good, though contributed. Maybe the film characters were weaker than the story. They should have focused more on them to progress it, so it would have achieved the success they were looking for than what a few people praising it. I think it's okay for a watch with the low expectation.6/10

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Scam artiste Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell) pulled off a job in Poland, that saw him turned in by his own brother Nicky (Matt Dillon) for a reduced sentence. A few years later, after a motorcycle stunt went wrong, he finds himself holed up in casts, until he's asked to retrieve the real copy of a stolen book, reuniting his old crew and setting out on a mission that is not all that it seems and everything can change in the blink of an eye.Kurt Russell seems to have disappeared in to the background in recent years, flitting as he always did between hit and miss, and now he pops up in this technically impressive, but overly flawed thriller, that actually declines in quality the more it goes on.The things that make it interesting to start with are the things that come to be it's downfall, with the slick, stylish opening, and the plot that requires your attention becoming respectively over whelming and just convoluted and overly complex. But it maintains a sense of substance and sophistication that never stops commanding your attention throughout, and while it's not the sum of it parts, it doesn't fail to cover the cracks. **

What a cast! I have to put that out there first. Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, but also Terence Stamp (every word he's saying has such a weight and him going for comedy, is so great). Actually everyone involved makes it look so effortless. Heist movies of course might not be everyones thing and people might argue, that after Oceans Eleven (or the sequels), there is nothing left to say.Yes this may be predictable and may or may not make much sense under scrutiny, but it is too fun to watch, twist and turn and go different directions, that it would be a shame for you not to enjoy it. And I can't stress out enough, that this also has a lot to do with the cast involved. The script is good, but you have to have people deliver it. Every role is cast in a great way and this movie makes no secret that it wants to entertain you. It's not as wrangled up as "Now you see me" (which is also better), but it doesn't have to be

A real gem! This film deserves much higher reviews!The way the film was edited and shot with flashbacks and flash forwards intersecting the current storyline makes The Art of the Steal very engaging. Too many films nowadays throw together big names, action and crude humour without any substance. Art of the Steal managed to do a solid job focusing on the story while feeding the audience bits of information that will come together at the end.The Art of the Steal is a mix of Ocean's Eleven series with Gambit and Incognito (1997). Highly highly recommended