Absolutely Fantastic

Blistering performances.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I got this movie as part of an "action film" 6 pack, a remaindered compilation that cost me $3 in a bargain bin, and I was hoping for a hidden gem. Alas, it's pretty obvious after a few minutes why "The Heist" is forgotten.The main thrust behind this movie appears to be one "Rick Jordan". His name is all over the credits and he plays the lead guy "K". And you know, I can sympathize with him - he put months of his life and hundreds of hours of work into his shot at the big time, and what did he get? Anonymous jerks like me giving him a "C+". But seriously, the movie deserves no better.That's mostly because, dammit, the screenplay just doesn't have much originality to offer, and if you aren't original, especially in a heist movie, you'd darned well better know how to keep things moving and focused. And that's where "The Heist" falls down. In this case, once the actual robbery is done and the crooks are back in the base dividing up the cash, the screenplay tries to turn into "Reservoir Dogs", and the cast and the dialog just aren't up to that standard. The movie bogs down (how long can it actually take for 6 people to count up and divide a stack of bills?) and the characters' actions really don't make a lot of sense. In fact, two of the gang just seem to go off the rails with no motivation at all and contrary to their own best self interest. There's way too much clichéd dialog, way too much yelling and way too much posing with guns at a point where the movie desperately needs forward momentum.Jordan himself is a photogenic guy, but the movie tries to substitute his rugged build and hard features for brains and charisma; his character can't keep his gang from tearing itself apart, and the actor can't command the film the way Hackman did in the other movie named "Heist" or Wahlberg in "The Italian Job"...etc. Again, sorry Jordan, I imagine you worked your heart out to make this film...but you needed a sharper screen play and a little less self indulgence.Also a problem is the actor playing the drug lord...he's suitably sinister and slick looking, and I understand that he's supposed to be speaking English as an acquired language...but between the character and the actor's delivery, he's a distraction and an annoyance. Don't get me wrong, he obviously has potential and talent...but he doesn't work well here. Call more a case of bad casting than the actor's fault.So, not a hidden gem at all, but a deservedly obscure wanna-be. On the other hand, it's not "so bad it's good" like Ed Wood/Bill Rebane, or "hopelessly dull under a slick patina of polish" like the pictures Crown International churned out in the early 90s.Watch if you've got a chance to see it for free and you've got nothing else to do.