Heist Glorifies the Criminal Life

Heist - R

Best for: Mature audiences who enjoy Gene Hackman

What it's about: A team of veteran thieves (Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay) led by Joe (Gene Hackman) and his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) pull one last job. Danny DeVito heads up the crew, which targets a shipment of Swiss gold. DeVito insists that his hothead nephew (Sam Rockwell) be part of their team.

The good: Hackman is very good as the crew's patriarch, but it's hard to believe he has a young and beautiful wife like Pidgeon (30 years his junior). DeVito plays another ruthless-thug role. Director David Mamet delivers a caper that makes you out-think the bad guys to the end.

The not-so-good: The theme of this movie is "crime pays" if you're cool and smart enough to come up with a clever plan. The trend in making audiences root for the "bad guys" isn't a new one. But these days, the bad guys aren't portrayed as bad. Instead, their crimes are portrayed as a "professional choice," and their criminal behavior is dignified because they get away with the crime.

Joe uses his beautiful wife as a trap for the nephew, but the issue of adultery is never discussed. In fact, the ending sells out the wife's character for the sake of a plot twist, and the love of money ends up being the theme of the movie. Unfortunately, the price that is paid leaves a glorified path of death and destruction.

Offensive language: Extreme use of the f-word, other expletives and religious phrases.

Sexual situations: A man tears a woman's shirt, and we see her bare back. Sex is implied, but nothing is shown.

Violence: Various people are shot, wounded and killed, or in fights. Blood splatters on a man's head, a woman is hit in her face, a couple of men are shot several times but live.

Parental advisory: This is an adult movie, not intended for kids or young teens. It's another example of a storyline that glorifies the world of thieves and prompts the audience to root for the cool and smart criminal, whose behavior might be enticing to impressionable teens.

Originally published November 19, 2001.